Deputy Lieutenant Richard Barnwell, of Wisbech, has been approved by Her Majesty the Queen to serve as the Vice Lord-Lieutenant for the county of Cambridgeshire.

The Vice Lord-Lieutenant carries out the normal duties of the Lord-Lieutenant should they be away, ill or unable to attend an event.

Married to Beverly, Mr Barnwell has been a Deputy Lieutenant for the county since 2004 and has lived in Wisbech for 40 years.

He has been involved with many charities in the Fens and is currently chairman of Wisbech and Fenland Museum.

He is also chairman of Wisbech Charities, which manages the Wisbech Almshouses, and he is a trustee of seven other charities in the county.

Mr Barnwell was honoured by Wisbech Town Council in 2012 when he was appointed an Honorary Freeman of Wisbech.

He has been a Rotarian for more than 20 years and was appointed a Paul Harris Fellow in 2011 by his home club in Wisbech.

Mr Barnwell has been chairman of the Wisbech Preservation Trust, the Wisbech Tourism Group and a founder Trustee of the Octavia Hill Birthplace Trust Museum.

He was appointed the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire from 2011-2012.

Mr Barnwell, an auctioneer, who also farms 800 acres in Northamptonshire, has owned and run Clifford Cross Auctions in Wisbech since 2001, and holds regular auctions of fruit and vegetables, and trees, shrubs and antiques and collectables.

He is well known by locals, especially for his hobby of being an enthusiastic collector of unusual bygones. He gives talks around the area on bygones, old Wisbech and auctions and auctioneering in the Fens.

As Vice Lord-Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire, Mr Barnwell will serve his duties until 30 June 2020.