A road sweeper is one of the individuals recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Thomas Ardle, a 61-year-old street cleaner, is receiving his British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Liverpool, where he is known for his “great sense of humour and positive outlook”, for being “polite, courteous and hard-working” and regularly going above his duties, often picking up litter and cleaning graffiti in his spare time.