KIND-HEARTED Kingswinford fitness queen Jean Hughes has been awarded the British Empire Medal as reward for 41 years of fund raising.

The Jean Hughes Keep Fit troupe haS raised over £115,000 for local charities but Jean insisted: “I haven’t done it to win awards.

“I will accept it, but only on behalf of the ladies who have helped me raise so much money.”

Jean, who is 77, has been running keep-fit classes at Wordsley Community Centre for 41 years and said: “I’d heard a few whispers recently and I’ve got a good idea who nominated me. Some of the ladies that come to keep fit have been with me for the entire 41 years.”

During that time Jean’s group has staged countless fundraising events from barn dances and fun runs to discos, raffles and fish and chip suppers.

Only recently they raised £2,500 for a new scanner at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital to help pin-point prostrate problems Jean added: “I used to run ten classes a week, not only at Wordsley, but also at Pensnett and Hawbush. Now I just run the three, but the ladies keep coming, some from as far afield as Penn and Craven Arms.

“I’ll carry on doing the keep fit classes for as long as I can. I don’t believe in age, it’s what you feel that counts.”