A soldier from Sittingbourne has received a top award.

Cpl David Haggarty, a member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, has been named Best REME Soldier for 2012/13.

The prize, sponsored by Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), recognises the technicians and mechanics responsible for ensuring the Army’s equipment and vehicles are serviced and ready for action.

The 27-year-old was nominated for his role as the senior vehicle mechanic for an armoured infantry battalion operating out of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Despite working in the field on unfamiliar equipment, Cpl Haggarty serviced and repaired everything from Husky tactical support vehicles to locally bought heaters.

Throughout his deployment he also strove to improve life for his platoon by designing basic creature comforts. He built washing and laundry facilities for his command post, and repaired the electronic mailing machine so his fellow soldiers could receive post over Christmas.

In recognition of his tour of duty, David was presented with his Soldier of the Year award at a ceremony in Graffenwöhr, Germany. As part of his prize he also received a year’s free membership of SOE. Commanding officer Col Hamish Robson said: “This is a tremendous achievement.

“Cpl Haggarty’s engineering leadership and ingenuity in the most demanding conditions on military operations had significant effect on the combat effectiveness of his unit and the morale of his fellow soldiers, all of which exemplifies the REME Corps motto ‘By Skill and by Fighting’.”