Top honours for the local heroes who support their communities with pride

TWENTY heroes who make extraordinary efforts to help their communities as Lottery retailers have been honoured at a heartwarming awards bash.

- ROBERT KELLAWAY

The winners of National Lottery operator Allwyn's Local Retail Champions competition were treated to a celebratory dinner and given prizes of up to £15,000 each.

The annual campaign, launched last year, recognises the brilliant work of those for whom a friendly chat, great service and a hopeful lottery ticket are just the tip of the services they provide.

The 20 winners were chosen from almost 2,000 businesses nominated by customers keen to highlight the huge difference their hardworking store owners have made.

Two businesses were chosen as national winners with top prizes of £15,000 for their standout efforts, while 16 regional winners received £5,000. Two received innovation awards of £2,500 each.

National winners Barry Vara, 45, and his wife Avar, 44, refused to let serious illness get in the way of helping customers after their teenage son suffered a stroke in March.

They have raised thousands for charity, regularly make sure their older customers' shopping is carried home and even doing their DIY for nothing.

In one case Barry paid for a locksmith after discovering a customer was sleeping in a shed because he had locked himself out and could not afford to fix the problem.

The couple have run Barry's Local and Post Office in Chatham, Kent, for 22 years after borrowing money from his father to buy the business.

They opened for 11 hours a day, seven days a week until 2021 when Barry, diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2009, found the hours too punishing.

Heart

He said: "We started talking to our customers about how it would affect them if we closed on Sundays and they were very supportive.

"They told us they were glad we were starting to look after ourselves a bit and that they could easily adapt and come in on Saturdays instead. So that's what we did and now we get one day off a week."