A MELKSHAM woman has been named the South West unsung hero of the year by New Covent Garden Soup.

Charlotte Chivers, 38, of Short Street, was then entered alongside 14 other hopefuls from up and down the country for the national award, but said she was not sad at missing out on the top title.

The mother-of-two was chosen for her work as a chef at Snapdragons nursery in Atworth as she works towards achieving a Soil Association gold catering mark for the nursery.

Ms Chivers said: “It was very unexpected. I was nominated by my work colleague Mary for all the hard work I do in the nursery.

“I truly had no clue about it. It was a big surprise. We had an all-expenses paid trip to a private members' club where there was dinner and a big presentation.

“I never thought that I would win but it was prize enough to be nominated. That really was fab. Mary got lots of love from me for nominating me.

“I am working towards the gold catering mark, where we have to source all our own fresh local produce and to offer healthy menus.

“Some of the other nurseries have managed gold standards and we felt that this nursery should go for it and I just decided to take all the work on.

“It is quite a lot of extra work providing all the healthy nutritional food that they need but we want to keep the kids healthy.

“I really love working here though so it is not a problem. The staff, the children, it really is a great place to be.”