Tony Bywater, from Salop Leisure, presents a bottle of bubbly to Leslie Stocking.

Three sets of Shropshire people have been honoured for their stories of inspiration in a special presentation.

Shrewsbury D-Day veteran Les Stocking, who was recently honoured by the French government for his role in liberating the country in 1944, was among those awarded with a bottle of bubbly from Salop Leisure.

The Shrewsbury-based caravan and motorhome company, which has launched a quest to honour inspiring news stories, also presented bubbly to Walford and North Shropshire College lecturer Jo Millington and to Malcom and Jeanne Davies, from Hadnall, near Shrewsbury, who were made MBE for fostering children for more than 20 years.

The Shropshire Star told how 83-year-old Mr Stocking, who was part of the D-Day Landings in Normandy at the age of 18, recently travelled to Paris to receive the Legion d’Honneur medal for excellent military conduct. He helped clear mines in France, Holland and Germany during the allied assault.

Receiving his bottle of bubbly, Mr Stocking said: “I am very pleased. It’s nice to be recognised in this way, I’ve had no end of comments about the story in the Shropshire Star – all of them good.”

Jo Millington, 41, from Four Crosses, also got a bottle of bubbly after telling how she hoped her story of how she returned to work as a lecturer after successfully fighting breast cancer would inspire others.