A NURSE from Sheering has spoken of her delight at being made a Dame in the Queen's New Year's Honours list.

Dr Claire Bertschinger, of Back Lane, was given the honour in recognition of her extraordinary life carrying out humanitarian work across the globe in countries such as Afghanistan, Uganda and Sudan.

However she is perhaps best known for the exposure of her work during the 1984 famine in Ethiopia, when she was interviewed as part of a high-profile BBC news report by Michael Buerk.

Musician Bob Geldof later said that the report, detailing her traumatising work trying to save children in the dying stages of starvation, led him to set up the charity fund-raising event Live Aid, in which pop superstars came together to perform at concerts across the world.

Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Bertschinger, who now teaches at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, said she was overjoyed by the accolade.

She said: “I am honoured to be appointed a Dame but it has come as an enormous surprise to me.

“I am deeply moved to be receiving it in recognition of my many and varied nursing endeavours over the years.

“It is my most sincere wish that in receiving this award, I will be able to further raise awareness of the need for education in resource poor settings.

"It has been shown that for women in particular, increased education not only radically improves their own health, but also that of their families and children.

“The empowerment of women, educationally and economically, is a major weapon in the fight against child mortality in the developing world.”

She added: “I should just like to thank all of my family, friends and colleagues who have supported me in many wonderful and varied ways over the years and who have added immeasurable value to my life.

“I am deeply grateful for my experiences as a nurse, whether joy-filled or painful, and in accepting this most prestigious award, I hereby renew my continued commitment to increase female education and independence, in the drive to eradicate poverty and ill-health in the developing world.”

It is not the first award for Dr Bertschinger. In 1991 she received the Florence Nightingale Medal and a Woman of Year award in 2005. She has been awarded several honorary degrees and her autobiography, Moving Mountains, was published in 2005.