A SAFETY expert who stepped in after one of the world's worst-ever oil rig disasters has been made a CBE.
The Piper Alpha tragedy in 1988, in the North Sea, culminated in an explosion and huge fireball in which 167 people died and
Professor Stephen Richardson, who lives in Reigate, has been given the royal appointment "for services to chemical engineering, education and safety."
He produced several reports in the wake of the disaster which led to far-reaching changes in the oil extraction industry.
And his computer programme called Blowdown, involving the depressurisation of vessels and pipelines, has since been used in the design of more than 300 installations.
Mr Richardson is the Associate Provost and Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College in London.
Enjoying the sweet taste of a New Year's Honour is Fiona Kendrick, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé UK and Ireland.
A Tadworth resident, the mother-of-two was been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Since October 2012 she has headed up the business, which has a turnover of £2.7bn and employs 8,000 people across 23 sites.
A former Chairman of Surrey County Cricket Club, Oxted man David Stewart, 73, has been appointed a MBE.
He won the accolade "for charitable services to the health and housing sectors, in London and the South East."
Among the groups he has served with are the Haig Housing Trust in Morden, and Tomorrow's People Enterprises Ltd.
