FORMER Okehampton rugby player Julian White has received an MBE in the New Year?s Honours list along with the rest of England?s victorious Rugby World Cup squad.

The Leicester Tigers prop is one of 37 playing staff, coaches and officials in the England camp to be recognised for services to Rugby Union this year.

Although Julian did not play in the memorable final victory over Australia in Sydney in November, he was in the fifteen that took on Samoa and Uruguay during the group stages of the competition.

England head coach Clive Woodward leads the list of honours with a Knighthood while Julian?s Leicester and England team-mate and captain Martin Johnson is awarded a CBE.

From playing with Okehampton RFC in the mid-1990?s, Julian went on to play for Plymouth Albion, Saracens, Bristol Shoguns and recently joined the Leicester Tigers. Julian, 30, has been capped by his country 20 times.

l Long standing county councillor and chairman of Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bill Cann, has been awarded an OBE for his services to national parks.

Mr Cann, who lives at South Zeal, said: ?I never in my wildest dreams thought I would get an OBE. It is a real honour.?

Mr Cann has been a member of the National Park committee for 22 years. He has also served as a county councillor for the same amount of time and a parish councillor for 37 years.

The whole family were excited about the award when they first learned about it through an official letter from Buckingham Palace in November, Mr Cann said.

He said his award was also shared by his wife Christine and his two daughters who had been very tolerant of the work involved in serving the community.

Mr Cann said he was also pleased the award recognised the work of the authority. ?The support I have received from the members and officers of Dartmoor National Park has been brilliant. We have had a good rapport which has helped us to make the national park what it is,? he said.

l The former Devon chairman of the NFU, farmer David Hill from Chagford, has been awarded an MBE for services to agriculture.

Mr Hill was frequently in the national spotlight during the foot and mouth epidemic, when he championed the cause of farmers affected by the crisis.