A RHYL charity which has been lending a helping hand to residents throughout the pandemic is among the recipients of this year’s St David’s Awards.

The awards, now in its eighth year, is a chance to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of people in or from Wales and recognise the great deeds and contributions made by people from all walks of life.

This year’s ceremony, held virtually on Wednesday, March 24, highlighted those who have stood out during an exceptionally difficult year in 2020.

Among the winners was Denbighshire Dial-A-Ride, based in Rhyl, whose services stretch as far out as Denbigh.

The charity, which provides fully accessible door to door transport to people in the county who cannot use regular public transport, received the ‘Community Spirit’ prize at the St David’s Awards.

In March 2020, following the first lockdown announcement, Denbighshire Dial-A-Ride introduced a new service to collect prescriptions and shopping for anyone who needed them.

They recently introduced the ‘Buddy’ service where passengers can request that one of Dial a Ride’s drivers accompany them as they do their shopping.

Speaking having been awarded the Community Spirit prize, Denbighshire Dial-A-Ride Administration Assistant Rhys Fairhurst said: “We were very proud to have just made the final three, let alone end up winning. We’re all overwhelmed and we really didn’t expect to win at all. We were all close to tears.

“The work Beverley (Mather, the charity’s manager) and the team have done since the first lockdown has been incredible. They have done everything possible to make things work.”

For the full list of St David’s Awards winners, visit: gov.wales/st-david-awards