A former Anglesey care home owner has been honoured for his heroic efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Glyn Williams, 63, who ran the Gwyddfor Residential Home in Bodedern, received the Special Recognition Award at the Wales Care Awards.

This came after he used his knowledge of chemical, nuclear, and biological warfare from his Royal Air Force (RAF) service to build a military-style decontamination unit at the care home to protect residents and staff.

Mr Williams was described as a 'fearless and formidable' champion of social care during the pandemic.

He also campaigned relentlessly for more financial support for the sector.

The award was presented by Care Forum Wales chair, Mario Kreft MBE, who said: "There were thousands of Covid warriors who rose magnificently to the unprecedented challenge but Glyn was undoubtedly our Top Gun.

"He was a fearless and formidable advocate not only on behalf of his own residents and staff but also for the social care sector as a whole."

Mr Williams, who is now retired, spent 25 years in the RAF, where he trained as an electronics engineer.

He and his wife Mary bought Gwyddfor after he left the RAF in 2004.

Mr Williams said: "The award came as a heck of a shock, I had no idea but I am incredibly grateful to receive the award.

"To be honest I don’t really deserve it any more than any of the other fantastic social care workers."

Glyn Williams outside the decontamination unit at the Gwyddfor Care Home during the Covid pandemic  (Image: Supplied)

He added: "And of course, the real heroes were the ones that didn’t make it through the pandemic as far as I am concerned, especially during the early days."

The former care home owner explained how they built a decontamination tank and made sure everything was sterilised before it came into the building.

He said: 'We were thinking how could we stop the virus coming into the building and so we made sure everything was decontaminated and clean.

"We set up a tent outside, we had a ‘red area’, we sterilised everything that came in.

“We took the atrium and divided it up into two and had an amber area and a green area.

“Staff were getting changed into uniforms which were laundered on the premises, and so we were just keeping everything spotlessly clean.

“That all worked out well. We went 18 months before we finally relaxed our procedures."

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Mr Williams noted that one of the biggest problems in the early days was the dire shortage of PPE and inadequate funds.

He said: "I am convinced now that if it hadn’t been for the media we wouldn’t have got anywhere."

He praised the sector, saying: "The whole sector did an absolutely amazing job the way they looked after their residents and their staff."

After owning the care home for 20 years, the couple have sold it to new owners.

Mr Williams said: "There will be mixed emotions when we finally step away because we put so much into the home, but we know it is in good hands."