A former offender who is now a charity volunteer received an award from the Princess Royal.

Steven Ellis, now a Peer Mentor at the West Yorkshire Probation Trust, picked up a Butler Trust Award at Buckingham Palace.

The award recognises outstanding dedication, skill and creativity by people working in prisons, probation or youth justice settings and is presented each year by its patron, The Princess Royal.

Mr Ellis is a volunteer for DISC – Developing Initiatives Supporting Communities – where he runs an arts group to help people recover from substance abuse.

He said: “Winning a Butler Trust Award is brilliant on many fronts. First and foremost it helps promote recovery.

“I’ve been given my life back – nothing’s ever going to compare to that. I wake up in the morning and the day’s mine. I’m trying to help others achieve that too.”