NOMINATIONS are now being taken for the 2019 Middlewich Oscars which are set to take place on Friday, March 1.

The awards have been an annual event since 2014 when it was started by Cllr Bernice Walmsley, who was they town mayor at the time.

One of the first winners was Linda Boden, who started fundraising following the death of her son, Andrew, 12 years ago as a result of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).

Cllr Walmsley said: “Linda was a very worthy winner of the Middlewich Oscar and it is obvious that she is not resting on her laurels – she has lots of ideas for further work.

“She is a true community heroine and I would appeal to anyone who could help with placing a poster for her to do so.”

Linda started her campaign with the modest aim of getting enough money to ensure that the town’s High School had a defibrillator, but it has gone from strength to strength, with the town now boasting nearly 50 defibrillators.

The defibrillator has been shown to save lives so having one readily available is essential.

Linda said: “Andrew is the heart of the campaign, I am just the mouthpiece, but the people of Middlewich are the body and without the body there would be no defibrillators in Middlewich.”

Residents can send in their nominations until Friday, February 8.

Cllr Walmsley said: “We need nominations, and Middlewich is such a big-hearted town that there are still plenty of people who really deserve to win an award that recognises their efforts for the community.”

This year’s award categories are Young Person of the Year, Business of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Sports & Leisure of the Year, Excellence in Education Ward, Music, Arts & Culture Award, Community Service Award and the Town Mayor’s Special Award.