Radio Suffolk win top award

Radio Suffolk's managing editor Gerald Main collected the award

BBC Radio Suffolk has been named Station of the Year at a prestigious radio awards ceremony.

The station was given the award at The Frank Gillard Awards at Bradford on Monday night.

Judges praised the way the station developed its style to compete so strongly with bigger and better resourced stations.

It was clear, the judges said, that staff worked consistently hard year by year, and it was paying off.

The station also got top awards in two other categories.

Being the best in England was one of our objectives because we wanted to give the best possible local service to the people of Suffolk Radio Suffolk's managing editor Gerald Main

Rachel Sloane in the Afternoon got Gold for Best Interactive programme.

The judges said the programme was truly interactive with a real sense of community.

Alan Bramwell and Karen Hare from the Suffolk Action team got a silver award for the social action campaign for the "excellent work" done with the Hollies project.

This social enterprise project based at St Clements Hospital in Ipswich, which helps people get back on their feet after a period of mental ill health

'Just fantastic'

Radio Suffolk's managing editor Gerald Main, who collected the award, said: "'It's just tremendous news for the whole station.

"Being the best in England was one of our objectives because we wanted to give the best possible local service to the people of Suffolk.

"We're really proud of everything we do and to win three awards like this is just fantastic."

The awards come hot on the heels of a Gold Sony award which was won by the station's Breakfast Presenter Mark Murphy in May.

The Frank Gillard Awards are exclusively for BBC Local Radio in England.

Their purpose is to recognise excellence and spread awareness of good creative programming ideas.

The Frank Gillard Awards are named in honour of the late war correspondent and founder of BBC Local Radio in 1967.