A LOCKERLEY man has been given one of the highest honours by the American Coastguard.

Paul Sadler spent a large part of his career working at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Southampton as a chartered engineer.

A fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Paul spent 17 years there as head of shipping and safety.

Now, after being credited with driving important policies which contributed to addressing safety when out on the water, he has been recognised with a medal by the US Coastguard.

The Distinguished Public Service Award is the highest public recognition that the Commandant of the Coastguard may award, and are given out to recognise heroism, exceptional coordination or cooperation and personal direct contribution to the Coastguard.

A Hampshire resident for nearly 30 years, Paul lived in Romsey while working at the Southampton centre before moving to Lockerley.

Collecting his award, the prize was presented at Winfield House, the US Ambassador's residence in London by the US Coastguard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft and US Ambassador to the UK, Robert Johnson.

Paul currently works at the International Association of Classification Society and provides technical input to the discussions at the IMO with the objective of improving the level of safety onboard ships.

In addition, he also lectures to students and organisations in the UK and oversees, and for the last seven years has served on the board of governors of the World Maritime University in Sweden.