It may be hard to get money out of a taxman but it's not as tough to get blood from one.

For doctors and nurses have so far squeezed 425 pints of it out of Bradford tax inspector Alan Crossley, one of the highest donations in the country. And now he is set to receive the MBE on March 7, partly in recognition of his efforts.

Mr Crossley, who works in Bradford, started giving blood in 1971 when he was 18. And surprisingly, his extra-curricular activities meant that he was a valuable source for the transfusion service.

He said: "I used to play a lot of rugby in my youth and have spilt the odd pint of blood in my time.

"I used to go to hospital with injuries a lot and get tetanus jabs and they found there was something inside me manufacturing anti-tetanus agents."

Mr Crossley, who works at the Inland Revenue offices in Bradford, switched from giving whole blood to platelets about five years ago and now donates once a fortnight at the city's Rawson Centre.

As a civil servant for more than 30 years, he has officially been awarded the MBE for long service but has been picked out because of his blood donations.

"I've known lots of civil servants who have been here for longer but haven't been nominated. I suspect it's the blood donating which has put the feather in my cap," Mr Crossley, of Leeds, said.

A Downing Street official confirmed that civil servants had to be individually nominated for such awards but that details were confidential. Mr Crossley will collect his award from the Queen, accompanied by his partner, June, and his friends. And he is keen to encourage others to follow his example. "It doesn't hurt," he said. "There's no need to be frightened of people sticking a needle into you."

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