Volunteer of the Year Award

This award is for an individual who by giving their time and skills free of charge has made a significant contribution to the lives of others.

Runner-up:

Flimby lass Carol Tindall is a force to be reckoned with on the volunteering front. A tireless champion of her home town, she puts in 40 hours a week of unpaid work on top of her full-time job at Sellafield. Not only is she chairwoman of Cumbria Rape Crisis, she’s also a driving force of the Flimby Partnership. Earlier this year, she overcame many obstacles to set up a new youth club in the village. She was nominated as Volunteer of the Year by community police officer Liz Hampson.

Winner:

In spite of a long standing health problem, Graham Bromley has cleaned up the streets of Barrow-in-Furness. For the past seven years he has done all he can to protect his community, from voluntary police work to setting up a local safety group. His achievements are all the more impressive in the light of his debilitating chronic anxiety. The condition, which in his case includes social phobias, can make even normal tasks an extra struggle. But it hasn’t stopped Graham being a regular on every neighbourhood committee. Even threats from local yobs for working with the police didn’t deter him.