They're the pride of Shropshire

A community group set up to tackle anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking on a county housing estate was celebrating today after being crowned the Pride of Shropshire.

Meole's Got Talent, from the Meole Estate, Shrewsbury, took the top prize at an awards ceremony to recognise people who go that extra mile to make a difference.

The Pride of Shropshire Awards have been created by the Shropshire Star and The Shropshire Partnership to give unsung heroes the recognition they deserve.

Meole's Got Talent was one of nine category winners in last night's ceremony, at Shrewsbury Town football club's new stadium. They went on to lift the overall trophy.

The project came out of the 50th birthday celebrations of the Meole Estate Community Association and features singing workshops and a concert in the local church hall. It now involves dozens of youngsters.

There was also a posthumous award for police constable Ricky Gray, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in Shrewsbury last May. His widow Jenny-Lee Gray received a standing ovation as she collected the trophy.

With credit being crunched, fuel bills on the rise and the housing market in the doldrums, the 2008 Pride of Shropshire awards couldn't have come at a better time.

Check out our photo gallery below

Last night's inaugural prizegiving ceremony showed the county has many reasons to be cheerful as a procession of unsung heroes, community volunteers and generous characters received richly-deserved rewards.

Kathryn Holloway, who has set up her own promotions company on Telford's Stafford Park estate at the age of 22, was crowned Young Entrepreneur, while Karen Gallagher, from Madeley, - who arrived in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce - capped a night to remember by taking the Learner Award in recognition of her brave decision to return to college at the age of 44 to train in telesales after a career break to care for her family.

Val and Frank Oldaker, from Underdale in Shrewsbury, were the winners of the Greenest Family prize. Frank has developed eco-friendly facilities at the town's Column allotments, while Friends of the Earth member Val tours schools giving talks on waste minimisation.

The winner of the Courage Award was nine-year-old Sophie Foxley, from Bayston Hill, who has touched the hearts of many people with her frank and emotional online blog charting her battle with cancer - earning her nominations from as far afield as Spain and South Africa.

The Carer Award went to Denis and June Wood, of Shifnal, who were recommended by Stuart McKenzie of Dawley for the many years of support and comfort they have given to his sister in her eight-year fight with cancer.

"She essentially became part of their family," Stuart said.

David Elkes, of Conway Drive in Shrewsbury, picked up the Volunteer Award. He retired just over 10 years ago, and has since invested more than 10,000 hours on good causes including debt relief group Basics Bank, the Barnabas Community Church in Longden Coleham, and the Community Money Advice service.

In the Healthy Star category, recognising someone who has improved people's health or quality of life, the winners were Dick and Fred Wildgoose, of Gobowen, who have pioneered disabled cricket in the UK for more than 15 years.

Their work has helped the Cricket Federation for People With Disabilities to win the Queen's Award for Volunteers.

Alan and Margaret Squires, of Ford, took the Neighbour trophy, having been nominated by Shropshire Star columnist and blogger Emma Suddaby. Emma, who has aggressive rheumatoid arthritis, said their help and support with tasks such as ironing, shopping and collecting coal enabled her to "lead an amazingly normal life".

There was also a special posthumous Courage prize awarded to Shrewsbury police constable Ricky Gray, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on May 6 last year. His widow Jenny-Lee received a standing ovation as she collected the trophy.

Colin Spicer, managing director of Shropshire Newspapers, said: "We are proud of our county, and proud to be the sponsor in this inaugural year of the Pride of Shropshire awards, which we hope is highlighting how our beautiful county brings out the best in its people, setting an example which other parts of the country should follow."

Each category winner received a trophy, designed by glass artist David Keenan, of Jackfield Tile Museum, plus a cheque for £500.

Who won what:

• OVERALL CHAMPION: Meole's Got Talent, Shrewsbury

• LEARNER: Karen Gallagher, Madeley, Telford

• GREENEST FAMILY: Val and Frank Oldaker, Shrewsbury

• YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR: Kathryn Holloway, Telford

• NEIGHBOUR: Alan and Margaret Squires, Ford

• HEALTHY STAR: Dick & Fred Wildgoose, Gobowen

• CARER: Denis and June Wood, Shifnal

• COURAGE: Sophie Foxley, Bayston Hill

• COMMUNITY PROJECT: Meole's Got Talent

• VOLUNTEER: David Elkes, Shrewsbury

• POSTHUMOUS COURAGE AWARD: Constable Ricky Gray

For more pictures visit the Pride of Shropshire website at http://pride.shropshirestar.com/

Overall award to Meole's Got Talent - from left; Lorna Crosse, Chloe Jordan, 11, Sharon Byrne, Catarina Semedo, nine, and Helen Hinton, presented their award by David Battisby, from Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors.

Mrs Jenny Lee-Gray receives a posthumous award for her husband, Ricky Gray.

Courage award recipient Sophie Foxley receives her award from David Battisby, of Lanyon Bowdler solicitors.

Dick and Fred Wildgoose are presented with their award by Maryann Denfhy, of Muller.

High Sheriff of Shropshire Ann Gee accepts the carers award on behalf of Denis and June Wood, of Shifnal, from Coverage Care chief executive David Coull.

Shropshire's Greenest Family Val and Frank Oldaker receive their award from Mark Hayward, head of manufacturing at Denso.

From left, Shropshire Newspapers managing director Colin Spicer, Shropshire Star Editor Sarah Jane Smith, Shrewsbury Town Football Club managing director Rob Bickerton, compere Eric Smith, Star classified advertising manager Sally Evans and Star advertising director Peter Guy.