An 87-year-old Kingsbridge woman has been honoured for her tireless work with the community's elderly people and she says there's still plenty to do.

Jean Stephenson, who has been a volunteer with the town branch of Age Concern for nearly 20 years and was at the forefront of the project to create the charity's new state-of-the-art facilities, has become the town's first Citizen of the Year.

The new Citizen of the Year award will be presented every year and has been introduced by Kingsbridge Town Council in recognition of the good work being done by local people.

The town council felt Mrs Stephenson was the ideal recipient for the first award, honouring her dual roles as vice chairman of Age Concern Kingsbridge and Chair of the House Committee at Abbeyfield Home in Saffron Park.

She said: "I was surprised when I was told that I was going to be the Citizen of the Year but it is exciting. You don't do these things for the recognition but it is nice, especially as I'm the first one to receive the award."

A former teacher and JP, Mrs Stephenson is originally from Croydon and moved to Kingsbridge in 1975. She lives in Hillside Drive and first became involved with Age Concern in 1985 when the charity served lunches at the St John Ambulance Hall.

Over the years she has been instrumental in the creation of the charity's Day Centre in the rear hall of Quay House but more recently she has been at the forefront to provide the new facilities next door to Quay House, a joint venture with the Kingsbridge Rest Centre.

Her varied role included fundraising, choosing furnishings and planning the new kitchen layout – all while running the existing Day Centre and two luncheon clubs.

Now that the building is complete, she is busy making sure that there are enough volunteers at the centre which serves lunches four days a week and caters for around 30 people a day. She often helps out by preparing and serving meals and also takes time to visit house-bound people in the Kingsbridge area.

Mrs Stephenson says she enjoys working with Age Concern and has no plans to give up just yet. "Why stop now just because I'm 87? There's still plenty to do. These elderly people sit on their own all week and can be very lonely. Then they come to the centre and meet or make new friends. It's lovely to be able to help them this way."