AN Atherton woman who could not read until she was nine has picked up a prestigious award for helping children to learn to read.

Mrs Noreen Farnell is the first person to receive the Bolton Literacy Trust Award, sponsored by the Bolton Evening News, to recognise local people who promote literacy.

Now aged 69, she was just a child when she was evacuated during wartime from her Manchester home to Derbyshire.

This disrupted her education. "But when I learnt to read, I coudn't stop -- I devoured books," explained Mrs Farnell.

She encouraged her children, and later her grandchildren, to read, and she joined Bolton's Volunteer Reading Help scheme for local schoolchildren.

Eleven years ago, she went to Lever Edge Primary School -- one of the first to be involved with the scheme -- to sit with youngsters for a couple of hours a week and help them read.

Now, hundreds of youngsters later, her patience and dedication have received an official accolade. "It's lovely to receive the award, and I'm very grateful," said Mrs Farnell.

"It's been very rewarding helping the children -- seeing them improve their reading and grow in confidence. It makes so much difference being able to read properly and I'm glad to represent all the other volunteer helpers."

Bolton Wanderers' boss Sam Allardyce -- the Trust's Literacy Champion -- was on hand to present the award to Mrs Farnell at a special assembly. He told the Bolton Evening News:" I think that tackling reading difficulties early is definitely the best way because people may feel later on that they have to hide it.

"I was hopeless at school -- all I wanted to do was play football. But I've made sure my own kids kept up their studies, and kept up their reading."

Deputy head-teacher Mr Philip Partington paid tribute to the work of the Bolton Literacy Trust, which runs several projects in schools and homes aimed at improving literacy and numeracy.

And he thanked the Bolton Evening News for sponsoring the Award, especially as Mrs Farnell -- a popular figure at the Great Lever school -- was the first recipient.