SURPRISED, shocked and stunned - that was voluntary worker Mrs Sylvia Taylor after finding out she was to be the seventh Bury Woman of the Year.

The wait to find out who had received the 2004 Bury Woman of the Year title went on a little longer than usual when Mayoress Coun Sharon Briggs got a touch of the nerves and pronounced the winner's name incorrectly!

Mrs Taylor, a mother-of-six, who lives in Oxhey Close, said it was a completely unexpected honour. She told more than 150 guests: "Thank you. I have not prepared a speech."

Mrs Taylor (52) received the title at an afternoon fundraising luncheon for Bury Hospice at the Elizabethan Suite in Bury Town Hall.

Mrs Taylor was honoured for her work with the Women's Royal Voluntary Service, of which she has been a member for the last two years; visiting the elderly in residential homes with her dog administering pet therapy; and looking after members of her family who are ill or elderly.

She said modestly: "I am so surprised, shocked and stunned."