A selfless Marlow Rotarian has ended his presidential year on a high after coordinating an international effort to raise funds to fight Ebola.

Brian Jonson, outgoing president of Marlow Rotary Club, was handed the ‘Rotarian of the Year’ award for the district - which covers most of the Thames Valley and includes 60 clubs and 2000 members.

The honour comes after Mr Jonson stepped up a cash collection for Ebola into a fundraising exercise across the country, with more than £100,000 brought in under his management.

Since last year, Marlow Rotary members have been working with their counterparts in Monrovia, Liberia, where the disease was rife.

And after a successful campaign to get hygiene equipment and education to where it was most needed, the clubs are preparing to unveil a $161,000 medical oxygen unit at the city’s hospital.

Mr Jonson said: "It’s been a hell of a journey, and it has turned out to be a four-year programme. We were the first to get involved in the UK.

"We thought at first it would just be a local collection and we would hand them a cheque, but we thought let’s step it up a bit, but I had no idea it would grow like this.

"We looked at the most useful ways of spending the money, which was about sustainability.

"It has been a full time job but totally worth it. I am immensely proud."

Rotary provided help on the ground during the crisis, which is now easing with only a handful of cases of Ebola in Liberia.

As well as the oxygen unit, Rotary will fund a scholarship scheme for African health workers, to help replenish the emergency services which were so badly hit by the disease.

In addition to bringing in cash from all over the UK and around the world, Rotary secured grants from Rotary International of over $100,000 to aid the scheme.

Mr Jonson was visited last week by David Frankfort from the Monrovia Rotary Club, who has helped coordinated the scheme from Africa.

Mr Frankfort said: "I cannot begin to say how much it has helped, it came out of the blue really. Brian got on top of things and then others followed.

"We have now got the money to use on a local basis, we feel it is going to the right places."

Mr Jonson has now stepped down from his year as president, as has been replaced by Dr Chris Kelsey.