WORKERS who go above and beyond their duty at Bolton Council have been recognised at Bolton’s Best awards.

The annual celebration honours the work staff do to improve the quality of life for everyone in the borough.

Special awards were given to newcomers and long serving members of the council.

Chris Kelly, a member of Bolton Council’s employability project which helps young people with learning difficulties to find work, was praised for his hard work and commitment.

A former student at Firwood High School, Chris was the first student of the project to gain full time employment at Bolton Council. However, that challenge was not enough for Chris, who asked council chief executive Margaret Asquith if he could do more.

The teenager wanted to open his own tuck shop and donate the proceeds to charity.

For the past year he has run a tuck shop on the third floor of the town hall, each day buying produce to sell from Poundland, with help from council worker John Ryan. He has managed to raise £1,000 for Cancer Research UK this year.

Presenting him with his award, leader of the council Cliff Morris said: “We are so glad that you are with us at the council. The work that you do really is invaluable.”

An employability award was also given to young members of the local authority who had embarked on an employability work placement with the council.

Saqib Patel won the award and Kane Snow, Joshua Rempega, Joshua Crossley, Regan Norman, Saif Ghanchi and Matthews Giles were all nominated.

Saqib assists in the sign and poster department for the council. Mrs Asquith said: “He has excellent communication skills when working with a variety of different people. He has always been willing to get stuck into any job and always works conscientiously and enthusiastically. Saqib is reliable, honest, mature, cheerful and hard working.”

Katie Barnes, a former Canon Slade pupil and now studying creative writing at Salford University, was also commended for her work.

The 19-year-old, who works as a Saturday assistant at Bolton Library and Museum said she “did not expect to win”.

She added: “It feels amazing. I love the people I work with. They are all so nice. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Her father Steve said: “I am not surprised she has won, because I know just how much effort she puts in and it is nice how that has been recognised.”

In advance of the ceremony, held at the Bolton Whites Hotel at the Macron Stadium, council staff nominate workers for the awards, except for the Best Customer Care category which is also open to the public vote.

This category was sponsored by The Bolton News and editor, Ian Savage announced the nominees.

They were: Heaton Fold Garden Centre; Hate Crime campaign - Be Safe Partnership and Bridges Family Support. Heaton Fold Garden Centre is a small horticultural and retail venue established to support the adult learning disabled community in Bolton.

The Be Safe Partnership and its Hate Crime campaign aims to tackle hate crime and increase confidence among victims reporting these crimes and the Bridges Family Support offers short breaks to young people with disabilities. The winner was Bridges Family Support, managed by Jayne Entwistle, family support manager.

Minaxi Patel said: “It is amazing, fantastic and wonderful to have won. We have a great team that work very well together and we are very caring, supportive and flexible.

"We have got great leaders and managers.”

The Early Intervention team won the category of Innovation, Improvement and Sustainability and were given their award by councillor and mayor's consort John Byrne.

In 2014/2015 9,446 people, 77 per cent of whom were aged 65 and over contacted the council asking for help from social care.

The team helped the adults overcome any problems and issues relating to their health and wellbeing by engaging them with other community services.

Sharon Ainscough said: “The dedication of staff and the commitment they have is why it has had the success it has.

“It is a fantastic team and I am so proud of them all.”

Closing the awards ceremony Councillor Ebrahim Adia said all winners, finalists and nominees “were winners”.

He added: “The people of Bolton deserve good people looking after them. You all go beyond the call of duty and I thank you all and wish you all good luck in your careers.”

The ceremony was sponsored by the council’s IT supplier, Agilisys.