The boss of North Yorkshire Council said he was “really surprised” when he found out he would be made an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the New Year Honours.

Carl Les has been recognised for his services to local government.

“I was really surprised in a way,” he told The Press. “You don’t go through life expecting to get an honour.

“I was really pleased.”

Cllr Les said local government is “all about teamwork”.

“It’s the team not just me,” he added.

Cllr Les led North Yorkshire County Council from 2015 and continues to lead the unitary North Yorkshire Council which came to power in April. He has represented the Catterick area for over 20 years.

Cllr Les has been a member of the North Yorkshire Police Authority for 15 years and now chairs the Police and Crime Panel.

Apart from being a councillor he brings his professional business experience from working in the tourism sector.

Following his graduation, Cllr Les worked and managed the family business before selling it and retiring in 2014.

Alongside his business and council activity he was always active in the community being a school governor and trustee, a chair of North Yorkshire Youth and chair of a geographically expanding change advisory board (CAB) service.

He is also a volunteer director and presently interim chairman of Wensleydale Railway plc.

North Yorkshire Council’s general manager for library services, Christine Mellor, was also recognised in the New Year Honours.

Ms Mellor was awarded a BEM (British Empire Medal) for her services to public libraries, also including Flamborough in East Yorkshire.

Meanwhile, Professor Julian Daryl Richards, a professor of archaeology at the University of York, was made an OBE for services to heritage and digital archiving.

York Press: The University of YorkThe University of York (Image: Pic supplied)

Maureen Vevers, chair of governors at Askham Bryan College in York, was made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to further education.

Steven Underwood, lately a mathematics teacher at Ryedale School in Nawton, was made an MBE for services to Education.

Dr John Michael Grimshaw, director of the Yorkshire Arboretum near Malton, was made an MBE for services to tree health and plant conservation.

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Clive Herbert Jackson was given a BEM for services to the community in York.

What are the New Year Honours?

Honours as part of orders of chivalry have been given by monarchs since the Middle Ages.

In recent times, the British honours system has recognised people who have “made achievements in public life” and “committed themselves to serving and helping Britain”.

It acknowledges long-term volunteers, innovators, entrepreneurs, individuals displaying “moral courage”, those making a difference in their community or field of work or people improving life for others less able to help themselves.