AN ART expert who has worked with museums in Dorset for over 20 years has been recognised with the British Empire Medal.

Gwenyth Yarker, who served as a trustee at Dorset County Museum for 18 years, said the honour was as much for the many volunteers involved in the county’s museums as it was for herself.

She said: “I’m very touched to be awarded the medal because it means local people have taken the trouble to sponsor me and recognise the work of museums.

“I am one of a great many people involved and one of very many who would all be equally entitled to be singled out.”

Mrs Yarker, 60, said she also hoped the award would help highlight the problems faced by smaller museums in the tough economic climate and their reliance on volunteers.

In recent years she has been involved in a number of projects at the Dorset County Museum, including the Georgian Faces portrait exhibition and the Pharaoh: King of Egypt exhibition, which have helped the museum receive national attention.