A FORMER Ramsdean woman has been honoured with an MBE for services to disadvantaged people in Cornwall.

Judy Backus has rebuilt countless lives in the county through the Hidden Help charity she launched 15 years ago.

Her charity provides people in dire need – like those leaving shelters, hostels or escaping domestic abuse – with donated and preloved furniture.

Judy, who lives near Truro, set up the good cause after realis-ing there was a demand to help people who were starting over with barely nothing.

The ‘woman in the van’ collected her MBE early this month after getting the royal nod for the 2023 New Years Honours list.

The 81-year-old settled in Cornwall in 2009 after a nomadic life which included a spell in East Hampshire.