A LIFELONG community stalwart who dedicated his life to helping disabled children and the elderly in Inverclyde has celebrated his 90th birthday.

Joe Barlas MBE, who was secretary of the Inverclyde Voluntary Council of Social Services for decades, marked the milestone with his wife Pat and daughters Fiona Cannie and Heather Logue.

Heather, who lives in Australia, says the whole family is very proud of the service their dad has given to people in the area over deacdes of service.

She said: "He's a role model for all of us.

"My daughter has gone into social work as she wants to follow in my dad's footsteps.

"Fiona works with the homeless so we are carrying on the good work that my dad started.

"My dad is the kind of person who would not give up.

"Even if people told him no, he would not accept that, he would just keep going."

Fiona added: "It's an important landmark for my dad - he's amazing."

Joe, who now lives in Balclutha Court Care Home with his wife Pat, 88, was brought up in Greenock's High Street.

He started his working life in a butcher's shop until he accidentally cut off his thumb, which had to be sewn back on.

After this, he embarked on an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic with the well known company of John S Thomson & Sons, later joining an English engineering company.

He the completed his national service with the RAF.

In 1953, Joe secured a job as a typewriter assembler with IBM in Greenock where he got involved with the Inverclyde Voluntary Council of Social Services - a transport service to help disabled children and elderly people get out and about.

One of Joe's first ventures was an appeal, supported by the Greenock Telegraph, for every working person in Inverclyde to make a one off donation of 10 pence.

It raised £6,000 in one month, a huge sum at the time.

Thanks to Joe's determination and unrelenting commitment, the organisation went from strength to strength with the number of specially adapted minibuses growing from six buses to 25 and a hall, attached to the old social work headquarters in Dalrymple Street was opened and named 'The Barlas Centre'.

One of Joe's happiest memories was in 1980, the international year of the disabled, when, after months of meticulous planning and preparation, he took seven disabled children on a holiday of a lifetime to Disney World in Florida.

His efforts were recognised by the mayor of Orlando, who honoured Joe with Freedom of the City.

Joe, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, met the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2000 when she presented him with an MBE.

He said: "I remember this guy coming up and taking my walking stick away and I said 'what are you doing, I need that stick to walk'.

"The man said 'nobody falls going to see the Queen' but I said there is a first time for everything!

"Everyone had an escort and mine was the Queen's Sergeant Pipe Major."

At the time Joe's achievements were also recognised by then-Provost David Roach, who hosted a reception dinner for him at the Grand Corridor in the Municipal Buildings.

Fiona added: "It was a wonderful experience and well deserved after the work that he has done over the years."