THE largest celebration of amateur sport in the county took place at The De Vere Hotel, Blackpool on Friday with a little help from some local sporting heroes.

The Lancashire Sports Awards, now in its 12th year showcased local talent, inspiring effort and sporting dedication at a glittering awards ceremony.

Local football legend Jimmy Armfield, Olympic Gold Medal cyclist Steven Burke and Paralympic Silver Medal cyclist Rik Waddon joined the nominees and guests and helped to announce some of the winners in the eight award categories; School of the Year, Young Volunteer of the Year, Young Achiever of the Year, Community Club of the Year, Adult Volunteer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Service to Disability Sport and the award for Lifetime Achievement.

The eight award categories were judged by Jimmy Armfield, Tom Webster from English Federation of Disability Sport, Maggie Still from British Equestrian Federation, Sarah Fullick from Sports Coach UK and Adrian Leather from Lancashire Sport.

Jimmy Armfield, Chair of the Lancashire Sports Awards Judging Panel said: “It was great to see the community spirit that came across in a lot of the nominations. All of us on the judging panel were inspired by all the hard work and dedication that goes into sport in the county. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who contributes to sport in Lancashire.”

Almost 400 people attended the annual award ceremony including regional sporting personalities and business leaders, along with the families and friends of the finalists. Guests were treated to a performance from Parklands High School Cheerleading squad Fusion as well as hearing from Steven and Rik on their sporting experiences and what it was like to win a medal in a home Olympics.

Adrian Leather, chief executive of Lancashire Sport Partnership, which organises the annual event, said: “The level of nominations for the Lancashire Sports Awards surpasses expectation each year and this year’s nominees highlight all the fantastic work that is going on in the community – it’s a great reminder that people are inspired by sport and are inspirational to others.”

Sponsors for the annual event included; Lancaster University, Sport Makers, South Ribble Community Leisure, Funds4Clubs, Serco Leisure, The University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust and Thornton Sports.