DROITWICH Spa's MP has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours List.

Peter Luff, MP for Mid Worcestershire, which covers Droitwich Spa, will be made a Knights Bachelor for his political and public service.

The honour comes after spending 16 years supporting the people of Mid Worcestershire as their MP.

Mr Luff , who will step down at the next general election, said: "I was surprised and delighted when I heard that I would be getting the award.

"It is called an honour and that's exactly what it is. It is simply a huge honour to be recognised in this way.

"I was also very touched by the reasons given. My focus on engineering and also the non-partisan way I chair select committees were both mentioned."

Knights Bachelor is the most ancient sort of British knight with the rank existing during the 13th century reign of King Henry III. A Knights Bachelor ranks below knights of the various orders and is mostly awarded for public service recognition.

Mr Luff was born in Windsor and after grammar school went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he secured a degree and an MA in economics.

The father-of-two carved out an early parliamentary career as a research assistant to former Worcester MP Peter Walker, the start of a journey which eventually established him as a leading Conservative.

He became managing director of Good Relations, a public affairs firm, in the early 1980s before becoming a special adviser to trade secretary David Young.

After becoming Worcester’s MP in 1992 he moved on to the Mid-Worcestershire seat five years later when the parliamentary boundaries were redrawn.

He has commanded a huge majority in this constituency ever since.

He went on to serve on many select committees over the years, including ones for trade and industry, business and enterprise, and innovation. But his highest profile role came in 2010, when David Cameron made him minister for defence equipment, support and technology - a post he has since resigned from.

His reputation for fighting campaigns has won him many supporters along the way, most notably when he got the Government to scrap plans for a 750-capacity asylum centre in Throckmorton, near Pershore, in 2002.

He also fought for the speed cameras along the notorious A449 between Claines and Kidderminster and helped lead the campaign to reopen Droitwich Spa's canals.

In 2005 he also beat proposals to cut services at Evesham Community Hospital, a stance which put him on a collision course with former health secretary Patricia Hewitt.

He has also been a staunch supporter of better railway services between Worcestershire to London, saying the Cotswold Line, as it is called, needs more frequent services.

Known for his combative style, he was once reprimanded in the House of Commons for shouting at Tony Blair over the tax credits fiasco of 2005, when tens of thousands of families were left on as little as £56 a week due to administrative errors.