If anyone deserves the title of Volunteer of the Year it's 67-year-old Dene Ashberry, who has been driving elderly people to Talbot House in Grangemouth for the last 20 years.

Come rain or come shine in summer, autumn, winter or spring he has been a mobile rock on which people can rely.

Dene said: "There have been times when the weather has been absolutely diabolical, but you know you have to go out even though you get a good soaking and you feel miserable.

"You do it because, if you don't, these people won't be able to get out of their house. I honestly never regretted a minute of it."

Dene received his award from Provost Pat Reid at the Inchyra Grange Hotel during an event organised by Volunteer Centre Falkirk to
celebrate the commitment of volunteers.

"It was a complete and utter surprise," said Dene. "When my name came up I was stunned – someone had to give me a nudge.

''It's a great honour when you see the amount of people there who were doing great work."

Originally from Boston, Lincolnshire, 'The Driver' came up to Scotland in the 1970s after serving with the Royal Signal Corps and started volunteering in the mid-1980s.

"I was involved in the Monday Care Club, helping people who were frail or elderly and driving for Epilepsy Scotland,'' he said, ''I also helped the Central Wheelchair Dance Club."

It was in April 1989 that Dene first started driving people to Talbot House on behalf of Grangemouth Community Care.

"I would go out, pick them up and then take them for their lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays,'' he explained.

''I felt a lot of satisfaction doing something useful for the community

''I've made a lot of friends since I started doing this and I get hundreds of Christmas cards each year."

Dene admits his volunteering helped him as much as it helped others. Maybe more.

"At that time I had lost my job and I was at the bottom of the barrel,'' he said. ''Then I saw a notice in the library looking for volunteer drivers, so I went along to the social work department and they said they could use my services.

"That was the start of me coming back up."

Even Dene is amazed when he looks back on his driving exploits.

"I kept a note of the mileage I did in 1994," he said. "Between January 5 and December 18, it came to 15,000 miles. And that was just one year."

Sadly, though not surprisingly, Dene will be putting the brakes on his driving role at the end of the year.

"I won't be doing the driving side of things any more'' he said. ''I think people will miss me, but it's something that had to come sooner or later – my driving licence is up when I'm 70.

"Hopefully the club will be able to find other drivers. It's just a few hours of their time every week and it's important to give elderly people a social life."

He will be busy behind the wheel until Christmas, however, with four bus runs in July taking children to play parks – and, of course, his usual Talbot House runs.

Dene might be preparing to hang up his keys, but his commitment to volunteering might just see him get back behind the wheel again.

"I would be available if I was really needed. I don't want to see people let down," he said.