FIVE dedicated carers from St Neots were presented with long service awards last week after each spending at least a decade dedicated to helping other people. Between them the carers had notched up 60 years of looking after local people in their own homes

FIVE dedicated carers from St Neots were presented with long service awards last week after each spending at least a decade dedicated to helping other people.

Between them the carers had notched up 60 years of looking after local people in their own homes.

The carers all work for Careforce, and the company decided to mark the occasion with a special presentation.

Branch manager Resham Kotwal said she was proud that, in their relatively small operation, they had so many dedicated and reliable carers.

The women were each presented with a bouquet of flowers by the company's regional manager, Sally Hughes, and each was also given an engraved award.

The five carers included Denise Warren and her daughter Suzanne Warren-Smith, who have been caring for 12 and 13 years respectively. Suzanne began working in care following some work experience in a care home.

Her mother, Denise, followed her into the profession after caring for her own mother, because she said she wanted to continue to make a positive difference to the lives of elderly people.

Also given awards were Janet Melling and Roberta Pinkerton, who have both been carers for almost 11 years. Janet started with a few hours week to fit in with school hours - as her son grew so did the number of hours Janet worked, and now she is full-time.

And the fifth carer recognised in the awards was Judith Hess, who said: "Caring is not a job, it's a vocation and a profession. We do it because we love it.

"We care for elderly people and those with disabilities and we care for them in every way.

"The people we meet become our friends and we know how important we are to their lives. We may be the only person they see that day. I don't think there are many occupations that could offer so much job satisfaction. We're all very proud to be carers.