Chris Hart has been presented with the Les Rogerson Trophy, the award given by the Lancashire Athletic Association to the athlete who, in the opinion of the committee, was the best in the county over the previous 12 months.

The presentation was made at the Association's annual general meeting at Cottam in Preston.

Last summer, the Blackburn Harrier was the top ranked under-20 athlete in the country at two events, the 2,000 metres steeplechase and 3,000 metres steeplechase, while he was also highly placed in the 3,000m flat.

At the British Milers' Club Nike Grand Prix he clocked 8:58.47 for the 3,000m chase, to become the only one to reach the qualifying time for the European Junior Championships.

He won the AAAs under 20 Championships at Bedford to clinch his place in the Europeans at Kaunus in Lithuania where he won his first Great Britain vest.

His only disappointment was that a foot injury compromised his performance there, but back home he found that his exploits had earned him a scholarship at St Mary's College in London.

By the end of the year, he was back on song, running 30:53 at the Ribble Valley 10K, the fastest time by an under-20 in the country all year.

This year he has moved into the under 23s, and despite being two years younger than many of his rivals, he is second in the national rankings at the 3,000m steeplechase having made another quantum leap to clock under 8:45.

That improvement led to an invitation to take part in the Senior AAAs Championships which included the European Trials.

In the televised race, he finished fifth. Chris defeated four other athletes to win the Les Rogerson Trophy, among them Blackpool's wheelchair athlete Shelly Woods.