TEENAGE cadet Jake Berry from Bradford has been awarded a top honour.

The 17-year-old regimental sergeant major was presented the the highest honour in the cadet forces by Dr Ingrid Roscoe, the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.

She was there to hand him the Lord-Lieutenant's award personally at a special ceremony in front of family, friends and local dignitaries.

Jake, who joined the cadets in 2010, was among only 12 cadets selected from a total of 8,500 across the whole Yorkshire and Humber region to be awarded the Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate. All cadets are between 10 and 18 years of age and can be part of the Sea Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force or Air Training Corps .

Joining the Bradford detachment in 2010, Jake’s enthusiasm and determination to learn as much as he could saw him quickly promoted to Lance Corporal. Revelling in the new responsibility, his natural leadership and confidence was soon recognised and he continued to progress up the ranks and become a valuable asset.

Jake said: “I’m really pleased to have received such a prestigious award as this. I’ve put a lot of effort into the cadets over the last four years and enjoyed such a terrific range of activities and experiences that I never imagined I would.

"It was a great shock to hear I was being appointed Lord-Lieutenants Cadet, and I’m going to continue to out just as much effort into that role as everything else I’ve done in the cadets.”

This summer, two other local cadets followed in the footsteps of famous Scottish explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie and completed a gruelling trek in the Rocky Mountains.

Alice Peace, of Bingley, and James Brame, of Lower Grange, near Allerton, both 16, were among 13 cadets from across the region chosen to take part in the three-week expedition, through the West Coast Mountains of British Columbia in Canada.

They were following the final section of the Mackenzie trail, which is rarely used because of its challenging nature.

The cadets, who were accompanied by seven instructors, carried all their own equipment and food.

Despite making their way across unspoilt wilderness of the Rainbow Mountains, including reaching the summit of Mount Mackenzie, and crossing rivers, lakes, streams, bogs, forests and meadows - they did not encounter a single bear.

The cadets were also flown into Ptarmigan Lake, some 1,600 metres high, to mountain trek and visit the foot of a glacier overlooking Hunlen Falls – the third highest waterfall in Canada with a vertical drop of more than 260 metres.

Both of the Bradford cadets raised £1,200 to pay for the trip by doing jobs and back-packing sessions - the rest was subsidised by the Yorkshire Cadet Trust.