A RETIRED firefighter is calling on the public to get behind next year’s Olympics by becoming Essex Ambassadors.

Brian Hickey, 59, will be one of 400 people welcoming visitors to the county for the London 2012 Games.

The Essex Ambassadors will play a key role in helping sports fans navigate their way around the county, promoting its tourist hotspots.

They will be based at Hadleigh’s Olympic mountain bike site and at the county’s main train stations and airports.

Mr Hickey has already had a taste of what it is like to be an Essex Ambassador after volunteering to help at the test event held at the mountain bike track at Hadleigh Farm in July.

He said: “It's a great opportunity for anybody who wants to get involved with having the 2012 Olympics on their doorstep and wants to promote Essex to visitors.”

Mr Hickey, of Gloucester Terrace, Thorpe Bay, served as a firefighter at what is now the Old Fire Station in Hadleigh and wanted to be a part of the Games next summer.

He applied for the role and went through a successful volunteer interview. He ended up directing people around the track at the test event.

He said: “I had to greet them and make them feel welcome and it was excellent, I really enjoyed it.

“There were quite a lot of different routes people could take through the park so we were there to make sure they went the right way.

“I'll be applying online to be an Essex Ambassador for the real event now.”

Mr Hickey feels it is a good chance for anyone who missed out on getting tickets to still be a part of history.

Even though volunteers won’t get to see any sporting action, he said, they will still play a role in creating a celebratory atmosphere.

Essex County Council, which has launched the scheme, says it is looking for volunteers to be the “faces of Essex” and provide a warm welcome to visitors.

Stephen Castle, the county council's cabinet member responsible for London 2012, said: “As a host county this is our opportunity to showcase the people and places of Essex.

“Essex will quite literally be welcoming the UK and the world – who better to do that than our county’s people?

“This is a great opportunity.”

Southend Association of Voluntary Services has been chosen to recruit the ambassadors and face-to-face interviews will take place between November and February in volunteer centres across the county.

Successful candidates will be provided with a uniform and taught about Olympic sports, the venues and transport and tourism in Essex during training sessions held between April and June next year.

Volunteers must live or work in Essex and be aged 16 or over on January 1 next year.

They must also commit themselves to a minimum of six five-hour volunteering sessions between May 18 and September 10 next year.

To apply, visit www.essex legacy.org to download an application form before October 31.

Forms are also available at libraries and volunteer centres across the county.

Successful applicants will be notified in March next year.