Gate Safe founder Richard Jackson has been honoured with the prestigious Alan McArthur ‘Unsung Hero’ award at this year’s Safety & Health Excellence Awards.

The national awards, which represent a joint venture between Western Business Media and Health & Safety Matters magazine, were held last week at The Vox, NEC Birmingham in front of an audience of more than 700 guests. Hosted by celebrity comedian Dara Ó Briain, the evening provided an opportunity to recognise companies and individuals who continue to set the bar for the highest standards of health and safety excellence. The sponsor of the Unsung Hero award – 3M – represents the company where Alan McArthur worked. As the face of many of the 3M customer education programmes he dedicated more than 20 years to innovating and improving health and safety.

Commenting on the Unsung Hero accolade, Richard said, “I’m delighted to have been nominated for this award and hope it serves to raise ongoing awareness of the importance of gate safety. I would like to emphasise that the success of Gate Safe is due to a collective effort, without the support, commitment, and dedication of the other members of the Gate Safe team, the charity would not be able to continue to deliver the training, education and services for which it is renowned. We are now in our 14th year and whilst we have achieved many milestones, there is no time for complacency, there is still much work to do to ensure the improved safety of automated – and manual – gates and barriers in the UK and further afield.”