AN OTLEY author has been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts.

Brin Best has received the honour in recognition of the outstanding contribution he has made towards enhancing British-Polish relations in the UK.

The 50 year old's achievements so far have included setting up The British Polonia Foundation and co-writing the book Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation.

He has also written a series of articles in Tydzie? Polski ('The Polish Weekly') newspaper and run a campaign to create an international network of ambassadors for British-Polish cooperation.

Mr Best was awarded 'fast-track' Fellowship of the society – a special category reserved for those whose contribution to social change is well documented and can be studied online.

He said: "I am deeply honoured to be awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts for my work to create closer ties between British and Polish people, built on our shared history.

"It is highly significant, at a time when Polish is the second most commonly-spoken language in the UK, that the society has chosen to recognise the key area of British-Polish relations by awarding me a Fellowship.

"The present-day Fellows of the society continue to be inspired by the extraordinary achievements of past Fellows such as scientist Marie Sk?odowska-Curie, whose creativity had such a huge impact on society."

The Royal Society of Arts is a London-based organisation, founded in 1754, whose stated goal is to 'enrich society through ideas and action'.

Mr Best, as one of its Fellows, can now add the letters FRSA after his name and will be contributing to the society's events, working groups and publications.

He is joining a distinguished group that, as well as Marie Curie, also includes Charles Dickens, Professor Stephen Hawking, Benjamin Franklin and Karl Marx.

The Polish Ambassador to the UK, Professor Arkady Rzegocki, congratulated Mr Best on his award.

He said: "We really appreciate Brin’s efforts to bring Polish and British communities closer together."

*For more details about Mr Best's work visit his Poles in the UK - British-Polish friendship and cooperation Facebook page.