A BLACK Country great grandmother who has campaigned tirelessly for recognition for the veterans of the Arctic Convoys has received a final Russian medal honouring her late husband's bravery on the perilous World War II missions.

Phyllis Coyle, whose late husband Mick endured what Winston Churchill described as "the worst journey in the world", was delighted to receive the Ushakov medal - the last to be issued by the Russian government to commemorate the contribution made by veterans of the Russian Run.

Dudley North MP Ian Austin presented the award to Mrs Coyle, aged 86, who had been unable to obtain it - having been told nearly three years earlier by the Foreign Office that surviving old sailors and widows of former shipmates could not accept it if they had received or were expecting to receive a UK award for the same services.

At that time, Prime Minister David Cameron had announced the British government was to issue a new campaign medal for Convoys veterans - which Mrs Coyle went on to receive in October 2013.

But she never heard anything further about the final Russian medal to be bestowed on the Arctic sailors.

Determined Mrs Coyle, however, didn't give up hope and after contacting Mr Austin - the Labour MP arranged for the medal to be collected from the Russian Embassy in London and he delivered it to Dudley himself.

He said: “It was a privilege to help in a small way by making sure Phyllis received the final Russian medal issued in recognition of Mick’s bravery.”

Mrs Coyle also recently received, on Mick's behalf, a campaign medal issued by the Russian Embassy commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

Former Stourbridge Royal Naval Association president Mick Coyle, who died in 2010, was among thousands of sailors who braved perilous seas, freezing temperatures and German U-boats to deliver vital supplies to Russia.

More than 3,000 seamen lost their lives between 1941 and 1945 but Mick survived his time on HMS Bulldog.

Mrs Coyle described medals honouring Mick's service as "lovely" and said: "The waters they went through were terrible. They were lucky to get there and back."

To commemorate the bravery of her late husband and his former shipmates, Mrs Coyle and her daughter Jennifer Pickin from Brierley Hill used their savings to have an official UK memorial created for Britain’s Arctic convoys veterans at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire, which was unveiled in August 2012.