Jim Haggerty, 54, has been presented with an OBE by the Queen in recognition of his work alongside the regional chief of police in the war torn country.

Lt Col Haggerty, now of Guisborough, Teesside, served in Afghanistan for a period of ten months and helped the fledgling Afghan police force establish itself.

Seven years after the invasion, Mr Haggerty admits that becoming a policemen in Afghanistan was still a deadly job.

"It's a dangerous job – there's a huge mortality rate in comparison to the national Afghan Army."

He said the police force in Afghanistan had received significantly less funding than the Afghan Army, which left ill-equipped police officers in a vulnerable position.

"The Taliban kill whole check points of 20 policemen in one go," Mr Haggerty said.

"They pull up in police uniforms, kidnap officers and murder them."

The situation in Afghanistan remains incredibly unstable and police officers are targeted on an almost daily basis.

He worked as a mentor to regional chief of the Afghan National Police, Maj Gen Ghulam Ali Wahdat, during his service at the joint regional co-ordination centre in Afghanistan.

"The regional chief of police said that the work we did gave his men courage and hope to do their jobs," he said.

Mr Haggerty, who spent 15 months learning Pashto, the Afghan language, said that receiving the OBE was a "fantastic" honour.

"My dad's very pleased," he said.

Mr Haggerty, who attended Blyth Grammar School, joined Blyth's TA in 1980.

He taught in Blyth Valley until leaving the area in 1986 after leaving the teaching profession.