WHEN he went on holiday to Bali three years ago, Watford firefighter Russell Ward had no idea of the massive part he would later play in a major relief effort.

Russell, 36, was one of the first people on the scene to help in the aftermath of a devastating bomb attack at Bali's Sari nightclub.

And last week his efforts were formally recognised when he received an MBE from the Queen.

Russell said: "It's a strange thing, it certainly feels like the proudest moment of your life but it's on the back of 202 people being killed."

After hearing the news of the bombing Russell went to the scene, where he worked non-stop for 72 hours at a makeshift hospital using his first aid skills.

He said: "We got about 400 people out of hospital. There were so many people involved, I was relieved there were people with much greater expertise and skills around me."

For full story see next Friday's Watford Observer.