Hereford'S Anthony Clarke has received a Diamond Award from the National Blood Service (NBS) for donating 100 units of blood.

Mr Clarke proudly accepted the crystal decanter at an awards ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel, Bromsgrove.

The ceremony acknowledged the achievement of donors around the region who had reached the milestones of 75 or 100 donations.

NBS spokeswoman Lyndsay Stewart said: "While we always need new donors, it is crucial that we take time to thank our long standing donors.

Milestone

"Mr Clarke has actually given 103 donations now, giving up many hours of his own time over the years.

"However his commitment has helped us keep our blood banks well stocked and could have saved up to 309 lives as each donation, when separated into it's component parts of red cells, platelets and plasma, can treat three different people."

Mr Clarke started donating when he joined the Royal Navy and at that time was able to give four times a year, which has greatly helped him get to his milestone figure.

Even though you can now only give blood three times a year, Mr Clarke has still managed to donate many pints of blood and hopes to continue.

"I still have four years until I have to retire from donating. I hope to reach 114 donations by that time," he said.

Lyndsay Stewart added: "Donors like Anthony Clarke are an example to us all. We are very grateful for all his donations and just hope that when he retires, there are many more loyal donors in Hereford that will follow in his footsteps and become lifesavers."

Anyone who would like to become a blood donor can register on the national helpline 08457 711 711 or visit the website on www.blood.co.uk