Ceremony honours sporting heroes (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Ceremony honours sporting heroes

NEARLY 200 people turned out to see the winners of the Wiltshire Times Sporting Heroes competition collect their awards.

The awards told many success stories, but the night must surely have belonged to Melksham under-18s volleyball team.

The club won women's team of the year, Sue Pierce won coach of the year and Jemma Mellor won club person of the year.

Almost 4,300 people voted for their sporting heroes, an overwhelming response for the competition's first year.

Competition organiser, Wiltshire Times sales and marketing manager Jon Chamberlain, said: "It was a fantastic evening, which was enjoyed by everyone.

"We had a fantastic reaction from the public, and will definitely be running the competition again next year."

One of the greatest success stories was Trowbridge schoolboy Christopher Stokes, who won under-16 sportsman of the year, as well as securing a four-year contract at Premiership football club Bolton Wanderers.

The 14-year-old will now move to Bolton, where he will juggle his football career with his schoolwork.

The winners

Sportsman of the year

Tim Stevens

Sportswoman of the year

Marguerite Alexander

Under-16 sportsman

Christopher Stokes

Under-16 sportswoman

Rachel Kay

Men's Team of the year

Corsham Centre

Women's Team of the year

Melksham under-18s volleyball

Under-16 team

Trowbridge RFC under-11s

Coach/Trainer/Manager of the year

Sue Pierce

Club person of the year

Jemma Mellor

Photographs appear in this week's Wiltshire Times