A ST HELENS pub's customers have helped select a Community Hero award that recognises a man's dedication to litter picking.

Proper Pubs, the community led operator division of Admiral Taverns – which owns 200 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales – has announced the three winners of its Community Hero Awards.

Each winner, who has been nominated by fellow members of their community, has been awarded with £1,000 to donate to charity of their choice.

Ken Jarvis was nominated by customers at the Boar’s Head in St Helens for his dedication to litter picking to keep his local community clean.

Every morning Ken collects rubbish, separates it and then takes it to the appointed drop off points to ensure the waste is recycled responsibly.

On behalf of his grandson, Ken donated his prize to Zoe’s Place, the children’s hospice where he was cared for.

Other winners were Paula Blades from The Station Hotel in Lancashire for caring for a fellow patron of the pub throughout his battle with cancer and Jayne Jacko at the New Inn in Wigan for knitting more than 20 blankets for end-of-life patients and premature babies at a local hospital.

Matthew Gurney, Operations Director for Proper Pubs, said: “On behalf of myself, and the whole team at Proper Pubs I would like to thank Paula, Ken and Jayne for their incredible contributions to their local communities.

“I’m blown away by their efforts and absolutely delighted that we’ve been able to recognise some of the unsung heroes across the UK. It’s so important to us that we support both our pubs and the local communities they serve so we’re continuously finding ways to give back to them and I feel this is a little something to show our appreciation.”