A lifeboat manager has said he is "utterly amazed" to have been named on the New Year Honours list.

Geoffrey Norris, 68, from Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, will pick up an MBE after almost 40 years of service with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

The retired road engineer said he started volunteering as a helper in 1973 and became the Arran lifeboat operations manager five years later, a post which he still holds.

Mr Norris said he feels the award recognises not only the work he does, but that of his volunteer colleagues at the station.

He said: "This award is totally unexpected, it has come right out of the blue.

"I wondered what I'd done wrong when the letter arrived from the Cabinet Office.

"I was utterly amazed. I think it is in true recognition of the work we do as a station and all of the other volunteers at stations around the country."

RNLI Arran's daily tasks often include medical evacuations from the island and from the nearby Holy Isle, as well as dealing with medical emergencies on board boats and ships.

Mr Norris used to work for North Ayrshire Council but since retiring he devotes his time to the RNLI, Arran Yacht Club and Arran Junior Sailing Club.