Cheddar resident Sarah Strawbridge has been crowned a national winner at the prestigious LTA Tennis Awards for her pioneering exploits to help grow tennis in her community.

She scooped the LTA's Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year Award after continuing to champion participation through lockdown and adapting to Covid-19 restrictions.

Strawbridge, who operates at Cheddar Lawn Tennis Club, has adapted creatively to the demands of the pandemic, shown consistent leadership and teamwork and helped tennis boom back to life in the South West after lockdown.

She was announced as the winner by television and radio presenter Karthi Gnanasegaram at a live-streamed awards ceremony presented by Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith and Strawbridge said: "I didn't think that I would possibly win such a prestigious award.

"The committee and myself were all delighted. We had a committee meeting before, and we all stopped at 8pm because I wanted to share this with the committee. It's a real team effort and not just me, it's everybody behind the scenes.

"We sat in the committee meeting and we put the laptop on – and a great big roar went up. I couldn't really believe it."

The LTA Tennis Awards are now in their sixth year and celebrate the achievements and contributions of outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players across the country.

And Strawbridge was hand-picked as one of 16 national winners recognised at the awards ceremony last Thursday, which honoured individuals involved in tennis at grassroots, county, regional and national level.

As chair and safeguarding officer at Cheddar Lawn Tennis Club, Strawbridge has given up countless hours in 2020 to create a safe environment in which to play tennis.

In addition, she almost single-handedly doubled the number of sponsors and secured funding for court resurfacing and the refurbishment of the clubhouse.

Strawbridge passionately promotes diversity and instigated an inclusive programme with Parkinson's disease, Down syndrome and wheelchair participants.

She's helped blaze a trail for volunteers in Somerset, enhanced participation and sponsorship and been passionate about promoting diversity and fostering an inclusive tennis environment.

Nominations were drawn from more than 25,000 volunteers, nearly 5,000 coaches and 1,000 officials, 22,000 schools, nearly 3,000 clubs and more than 9,000 LTA approved tournaments, with Strawbridge recognised for her inspirational work in the South West.

The quality and quantity of the nominations demonstrate outstanding work that has been done in tennis through the pandemic and David Rawlinson, LTA President, said: "The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive.

"They celebrate the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players, who are all vital in helping us to grow the game.

"The past year has been challenging for everyone, but to see the tremendous positive contributions the nominees have made to the sport and to their communities has been tremendously uplifting."

To find out more information about the LTA Tennis Awards or for information on how to play, coach, volunteer or officiate in tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk.