Two west Suffolk-based workers with electricity distribution firm UK Power Networks have been honoured by the company for their long service.

Charlie Ship, a substation inspector, and Peter Bolton, a project manager, have both completed 40 years of continuous service in the industry, qualifying for the firm’s special 40+ Club.

Mr Ship joined as an apprentice jointer, later moving into substation work after suffering a serious leg injury in a road accident, while Mr Bolton started as an apprentice electrician

There are currently more than 400 employees in the 40+ Club at UK Power Networks.

Basil Scarsella, chief executive at UK Power Networks, said: “Every year we recognise employees that have been with our business for 40 years or more.

“It’s part of being an employer of choice and doing the right thing by employees who have served us for a long time. It’s one of the evenings I particularly look forward to because I catch up with individuals that have been with us a long time.”

Mr Ship said: “I completed a four-year apprenticeship as a jointer but I moved into working with substations after I badly injured my left leg in a road traffic accident in the late 1980s.

“That was a major event in my life and I needed a substantial amount of time off, but the company supported me and I restarted in a different role around a year later.

“I’ve worked all around the country with this job, it was Croydon before Bury St Edmunds, but I’ve been happy to move the family and we’ve really enjoyed living in Suffolk the past few years.”

Mr Bolton added: “The company has changed greatly in my time but at the core is a workforce that can come together when needed and always strives to do a good job.

“What I enjoy about my current job is bringing all elements of a project together and delivering, sometimes against the odds.”