The Queen has approved the appointment of a new deputy lieutenant for Norfolk.

Michael Gurney has been chosen for the role, which supports the work of Norfolk's lord-lieutenant Lady Dannatt.

Mr Gurney, who lives in Northrepps, near Cromer, was born in north Norfolk in 1954.

Commissioned into The Blues and Royals in 1973 from Sandhurst, he served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Oman, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Turkey, and Jamaica.

On return to England in 1985, he went into advertising and in 1987 he joined an agency in Hingham where he also lived for seven years.

In 1994 he formed The Point marketing communications agency in Norwich with two colleagues and moved back to live on the family farm at Northrepps near Cromer.

He retired from The Point in 2019 after 25 years. He has been a trustee of the Norfolk Community Foundation and served on the Norwich Diocesan Board of Finance.

He has also served on the advisory boards of the Norwich Business School and Norwich4Jobs; was a board member of the Local Economic Growth Initiative in Norwich and deputy chair of the Norfolk Reserve Forces Association.

Lady Dannatt said: “I am pleased to welcome Michael to the lieutenancy, a role to which he will bring a wealth of world experience and local knowledge and I know I can rely on him to use all of his skills to maximum effect."