HUW Moses' efforts to aid a Caribbean paradise devastated by Hurricane Ivan helped earn him an OBE.

As a trustee of the Cayman Islands Recovery Fund, Mr Moses, 44, helped raise more than $5m (£2.75m) towards the rescue effort in a country where 80 per cent of buildings were damaged and one in four rendered uninhabitable.

Managing partner of law firm Appleby Spurling Hunter's Cayman and British Virgin Islands operation, Mr Moses, who was brought up in Pontllanfraith, opened the office doors on September 12 last year to anyone who needed shelter as the weather worsened.

Families and pets shared space with office staff as Hurricane Ivan hit - the worst to sweep the Caribbean in years, and at its height reaching 165mph.

Finding that the home he had shared with his wife Kim had been destroyed, Mr Moses slept on the office floor, regularly working 18 hours a day to keep the business going while assisting in the island's recovery.

A recovery committee involving Mr Moses was formed, chaired by the islands' governor using emergency powers. A few weeks later Mr Moses was involved in the formation of the recovery fund.

Nine months after Hurricane Ivan hit, and despite the fund's success, more help is needed as families are still living under tarpaulins or in temporary housing.

Mr Moses attended Pontllanfraith Grammar School and Cross Keys College before studying law at Birmingham University.

A solicitor since 1984, he worked in London, first visiting the Cayman Islands on business in 1987. He specialises in litigation and insolvency for Appleby Spurling Hunter, which has earned the Chambers Offshore Law Firm of the Year award.

Mr Moses sees his work in the recovery effort as an extension of his support of Cayman Island community events and charities, with which he and his wife became involved after moving to the islands in 1993.

"It is a great honour to receive the OBE, and to give something back to the country we call home," said Mr Moses.