City businessman has date with King Charles

AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE IS HONOUR FOR SIR FIX-A-LOCK

- WILLIAM TELFORD

PLYMOUTH’S ‘Sir Fix-a-lock’ is to meet King Charles III and receive the nation’s top business honour – as both man battle cancer.

Paul Montgomery learned his locksmith business had received the King’s Award for Enterprise in the same week he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Mr Montgomery has decided to go public about his diagnosis in the hope that it will encourage other men to get checked out. He said, since he put a message on social media, four men have contacted him to say they are to undergo scans.

King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer in February after treatment for an enlarged prostate. He returned to public duties last week and has said he wanted to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis.

Now the two men will meet this summer when Mr Montgomery travels to Windsor Castle to receive the King’s Award – the highest honour a UK business can be given. Sir Fix-a-lock was honoured for sustainable development, recognising how the Hoe-based business has shown “exceptional commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship”.

Mr Montgomery described how emotional the win left him, coming just a few days after he learned he has cancer. He said: “I was overwhelmed, teary but happy. This takes us to a whole new level, it takes a small business to the level of the corporates.”