THE town’s community heroes, including one inspirational nine-year-old, were recognised for their achievements during the Middlewich Oscars ceremony 2019.

The awards were presented to the people who have made a big impact over the past year by Cllr Bill Walmsley, Mayor of Middlewich, in Victoria Hall on Friday, March 1.

This year marked the sixth year of the awards which Cllr Bernice Walmsley started in 2014.

Cllr Bill Walmsley said: “As always, the Middlewich Oscars ceremony was a great evening, with many worthy winners who have made a difference in Middlewich.

“It was a pleasure for me to present the awards and to hear the stories of people in the town who work tirelessly for the good of the community.

“I am always pleasantly surprised by the number of names that are put forward each year, we seem to have a never-ending supply of people who like to help others in our community.”

Zack Jennings, aged nine, from Cledford Primary School, won the Young Person of the Year Award for his efforts to feed the homeless before Christmas.

Paula Jennings, Zack’s mum, from Nightingale Close, said: “We had no idea he was going to win. We had a letter inviting us to the event because he had been shortlisted for the Young Person of the Year.

“It was not until halfway through the speech before it was presented that we knew it was going to Zack.

“He was thrilled and I wish somebody was filming our reaction because apparently my face was a picture.”

Zack helped feed 72 people in Liverpool outside the cathedral but the fundraising he carried out enabled 200 homeless people to be fed on Christmas Day after he raised £800.

Paula said: “To be fair Zack is a normal boy, he loves football, he plays for two teams and he does well enough in school to get by.

“However, his heart is something else, he just wants to help people and the issue of homelessness has a special place in his heart.”

The Random Act of Kindness Group from Middlewich High School received the Excellence in Education Award and the school has been delighted with the achievements of the group.

Helen Thomas, head of RE, said: “The commitment to kindness that our Acts of Kindness group show week to week, is very heart warming.

“It is great to see young people dedicating their time to improve the lives of others and showing that they care. We hope that we can extend this kindness out into the community very soon.”

Pam Johnson received the Town Mayor’s Special Award for her 33 years of work with the Talking Newspaper Charity which provides audio versions of local newspapers.

Sonya Edwards won the Service to the Community award for working as a volunteer at many events including looking after the artists at the Folk and Boat Festival and making cakes for a variety of charities and the Rose Fete.

The Arts, Crafts and Leisure Award went to Rebecca Broad from White Light Ceramics and George Webster was named the Senior Citizen of the Year.

The team from the Kinderton Hotel took home the Business of the Year Award while the Middlewich and District Concert Society won the Music and Culture Award.