The Beacon Prize award ceremony took place last night with Peter Guthrie winning the overall award for his outstanding contribution to charity. In addition to the award, he received £20,000 to donate to a charity of his choice.

Guthrie was chosen for his work with the Register of Engineers Disaster Relief (RedR - now known as RedR-IHE), which he set up in 1980 to provide engineers to frontline relief agencies during times of emergency and disaster. He was described as having exactly the kind of endeavour that the Beacon Fellowship seeks to promote and encourage.

“His amazing story shows just what a person can achieve with dedication and an inspired idea. Peter saw how difficult it was for relief agencies to recruit skilled workers and the result is that the world now has an international body which deploys hundreds of specialists to all corners of the globe every year. In the last 25 years RedR has provided trained experts to help in every major disaster.”

Guthrie joined 17 other award winners, which included Sir Bob Geldof, who won the Beacon Prize for Leadership in recognition for his work in alleviating poverty, famine and genocide, and Jamie Oliver, who received the Beacon Prize for Most Generous Celebrity following the success of his 15 Foundation which provides training and practical experience in the catering industry.

The Beacon Prize celebrates and raises the profile of charitable giving in the UK by recognising those who have made a significant contribution to charity, whether through giving time, resources or specialist skills. For further information about the prize and its winners, or to nominate an individual for next year’s prize, visit www.beaconfellowship.org.uk