THE Lancashire Telegraph's crime reporter Sam Chadderton has been named the North West's reporter of the year.

He took the accolade in the O2 North West Media Awards, beating rivals from newspapers, radio and television.

Our Blackburn Rovers reporter Andy Cryer was runner-up in the sports reporter of the year category, with Chris Hopper highly commended in the business journalist of the year section.

The judges said Sam had ‘both writing ability and a dogged determination to get to the real story'.

“His portfolio showed a mix of brilliant news stories, uncovered either through the good use of contacts or by simply refusing to take no for answer.

"His work demonstrated clear exclusives which he’d worked hard to land,” they added.

Sam's entry included stories on the repatriation of Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft, who was killed in Afghanistan in August; an inmate telling of his ‘easy’ life in jail through Facebook and a Freedom of Information Request revealing how often police were making people say sorry for crime rather than prosecuting them.

He also led the Telegraph's coverage on the Consequences campaign, which is trying to raise awareness of the dangers of spontaneous violence following the death of Adam Rogers. Lancashire Telegraph editor Kevin Young said: “The recognition for Sam, Andy and Chris is a testament to their strong contributions, and it also reflects well on the Telegraph news and sport operation’s high standards.

"In Sam’s case, he beat every other journalist in the North West, a tremendous achievement and a just reward for his tenacious approach.”