A plaque is to be unveiled at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s HQ in Poundbury to mark the one year anniversary of Darran Gunter’s death.

Darran, Dorset’s former Chief Fire Officer, passed away last year aged 55 following a battle with cancer.

He had joined Dorset Fire and Rescue Service as Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2001 based in Dorchester, before progressing to Chief Fire Officer and later overseeing the amalgamation of Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in April 2016.

During his time with the force he introduced a number of prevention-focussed initiatives and was awarded the Queens Fire Service Medal in 2015.

He retired from the fire service in November 2016 after 34 years of service.

DWFRS will unveil the plaque, in a private ceremony, later today and Rhys Gunter, Darran’s son, said it was “an incredible honour” for the family.

He said: “It is a massive mark of the respect that my dad had from his colleagues and the community that he served.

“He was always very humble and probably would have hated the fuss but we're pleased that this is one way in which we’re able to mark his legacy.

“Within the last 12 months we’ve learnt more and more about what he did for the fire service - to us he was just dad, he was never ‘chief fire officer’, but we’ve learnt more about his commitment, his care he showed his colleagues, his belief in other people and the way he encouraged others to follow in his footsteps.”

Rhys added: "Dad strongly believed in giving young people a first chance in life, and through his commitment in schemes such as Princes Trust and SPARC, many lives have been changed. We never truly realized the impact that Dad had on other people's lives.

“We miss him every single day and do all we can to keep his memory alive.”

A bench will also be installed at Bowleaze Cove - a location that Rhys said was ‘special’ to his dad and where he would often be seen walking his two dogs.

The family said they hoped to launch an award within the fire service in honour of Darran Gunter and would like to thank DWFRS, John Davenport and The Beachside for their help in creating the plaque and installing the bench.