Home Care In Darlington, IN

Hundreds of care staff have been celebrated for their dedication and compassion at an annual awards ceremony.

Caremark Redcar and Cleveland, the largest home care provider in the area, recognised 270 staff members at its Carer of the Year awards, where each nominee was put forward by a customer or colleague.

The event returned for 2025 with a record number of nominees and took place across five days, covering the main areas served by Caremark: East Cleveland, Guisborough/Middlesbrough, Redcar East, and Redcar West.

Danielle Laverick, care manager at Caremark Redcar and Cleveland, said: "Our awards get bigger and better every year and it was amazing that over 70 per cent of our workforce received recognition from our customers in 2025.

"Not every customer chose, or was in a position, to make a nomination so many more our carers did not receive an award, but every single member of staff who works for Caremark Redcar and Cleveland is deserving and in our eyes they are all winners."

Caremark, which employs 370 staff and supports 650 people, introduced colleague nominations alongside customer nominations for the first time this year.

All nominations were read aloud to each staff member, with the feedback used to select the overall winners for each area.

Special prizes were also awarded, including recognition for staff working in supported living schemes.

The Supported Living Scheme Carer of the Year Award went to Nicholas Cook, who was praised in nine nominations.

One customer said: "Nicholas has been a big help, he understands me, listens to me, puts my pictures up for me and I do music jobs with him, such as setting up my music system and speakers."

In other categories, Kerry-Anne Silk-Reeves won the Guisborough/Middlesbrough Carer of the Year Award for the second year running, earning 12 nominations.

One customer said: "Kerry-Anne listens and does exactly everything I ask of her.

"She gets on with every task whilst conversing with me throughout the calls.

"She goes above and beyond for me.

"She is all I ever want from a carer and I couldn't ask for anyone better."

Michelle Burr was named Redcar East Carer of the Year, also for the second consecutive year, with eight nominations.

A nominating customer said: "Michelle is really hardworking and caring and always has funny stories to tell me.

"We always have a laugh and it just feels like a friend is coming round for a chat."

In Redcar West, Claire Wright received the Carer of the Year title with six nominations.

One customer said: "Claire has made a positive impact on our lives.

"She supports me as a carer and my husband who has Alzheimer's and always arrives with a lovely smiling face and has a positive disposition."

The East Cleveland Carer of the Year Award went to Leah Blyth. One customer said: "Leah goes above and beyond the call of duty when looking after my dad. She is thoughtful, dedicated, understanding, compassionate, polite and is a good friend to us now."

A North Yorkshire village hall has replaced crockery thanks to a community grant.

Osmotherley Village Hall, originally built as a school in 1836 and now a much-loved community hub on the edge of the North York Moors, updated its kitchen equipment with help from a £200 grant from the Broadacres Community Development Fund, alongside its own fundraising efforts.

Paul Howlett, chairperson of the village hall committee, said: "Over time items have got broken or chipped and some of them had a very 1970s look.

"We want locals to be able to enjoy events in the village and first impressions are important.

"For larger-scale events such as wedding parties or family gatherings there is an expectation of improved facilities and matching crockery is part of that."

The hall is busy most days of the week, hosting a wide range of events including parent and toddler, a film club, theatre groups, sitting yoga, and a garden club.

It is also used for private functions such as christening parties and wakes.

Mr Howlett said: "If you look at the Post Office that operates out of the hall, without that, locals would face a 14-mile round trip to Northallerton which is time-consuming for anyone and for some, such as an elderly person or a parent with young children, can present a challenge."

The Broadacres Community Development Fund supports organisations in the area, groups, and projects in areas where Broadacres has homes.

All grants are approved by the association’s residents.

Osmotherley Village Hall’s upgrade comes as usage of the hall returns to pre-COVID levels.

More information about Broadacres’ fund can be found on its website.

Ian Evatt said “blood, sweat and tears” were required in Blackpool’s 4-0 victory over Rotherham at Bloomfield Road.

Goals from Josh Bowler, Danny Imray, Ashley Fletcher and Tom Bloxham helped the Seasiders extend their current unbeaten league run to five games at the end of 2025.

Despite the convincing scoreline, which was aided by a second-half red card for Jamal Baptiste, Evatt believes his side were still challenged.

“It was a really tough game, and we knew it was going to be a tough game,” he said.

“I actually don’t think we started the first half that well, but we showed moments of quality to get us ahead. They’re always a dangerous side – I feel for Matt (Hamshaw) because I feel his lads had a right good go for him tonight.

“We had to win a lot of duels and a lot of headers – there’s a lot of blood in there. It was blood, sweat and tears, but that’s the way Rotherham test you.

“The players stood up to it great. The sending off helped off us, but I felt we were in control of the game, and at the end it became enjoyable.

“There’s so much more we can do, with improvement to come. There’s so much more growth in these players.

“We’re getting what we want, some of the tactical understanding is starting to come. We’re starting to trust the framework a lot more. It was a good way to finish the year.”

For Rotherham, the result at Bloomfield Road marks their fifth consecutive loss, with head coach Hamshaw left disappointed by the body language of his players.

“It was an awful performance with not enough character or leadership – it was just not good enough,” he said.

“There were a couple of decent balls in the first half, and they either didn’t make contact or didn’t hit the target. In the second half, a lot happened with the sending off.

“Just disappointed in the body language and the character, I’ve just told the players that.

“Some have had a chat back, and explained it’s not good enough. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it’s not good enough for this football club.

“We’ve got two back-to-back home games, and it’s going to be difficult because the level of performance hasn’t been good enough.

“The fans will come and be a little bit negative because of what they’ve been seeing, so we’ve got to give them something. We have to be on the front foot and win duals that we haven’t done.

“Tonight was miles away and brings shades of when we first came into the football club, and that isn’t who we are.”