A HEROIC York-born soldier has been decorated with a prestigious medal.

Major Matt Teeling had the Nato Meritorious Service Medal pinned to his chest in recognition of his work in war-torn Afghanistan.

The Royal Engineers officer, a former pupil at Scarborough College, received the medal for showing exceptional leadership, personal example and for making an outstanding individual contribution.

The dad-of-two said: “It is an absolute honour to be considered and presented with such an award. I am thoroughly proud of what we enabled our Afghan counterparts to achieve, and it was a privilege to serve alongside them.”

On his second tour of Afghanistan in 2013, Matt worked as the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) development officer – a role that involved mentoring and advising the division of the ANA that commanded the Engineer and Counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) units.

The medal is the highest honour awarded by the Nato Secretary General, who signs each citation. It was first awarded in 2003 and only a small number are awarded each year to personnel from the 28 contributing Nato countries.