Dean O'Shea says he is proud to be joining his 'idols' after being named as the 2020 recipient of the Ashby de la Zouch Town Council Civic Award.

The town council says it is awarded to 'an individual who has given notable service to the community and who furthered civic pride in our historic town during 2020'.

Dean admitted he was honoured to get the award after having such a long connection with Ashby.

He said the letter informing of the award came as a complete surprise and 'out of the blue'.

He told Ashby Nub News: "When I read it on Wednesday I just went 'Oh my God', they really do value it.

"I see what others do it in the town, and when I read the name of others who've won it over the years, they were my idols when I was growing up in the area.

"One in particular was Ken Hillier, one of the Rotarians right at the very start.

"And Mrs Vanessa Bayliss last year, I have so much time for that lady and obviously for Roger.

"She does so much work behind the scenes.

"But to be mentioned in the same breath as people like that makes me very proud - especially when you are an Ashby person.

"Some do call me the Man of Ashby as a nickname.

"Just to be nominated was great, but to get the award out of the blue, and share it with my wife and family, was amazing.

"On top of that, my phone's been going mad along with Facebook notifications."

Dean, a Senior Team Leader and Recruiter with Utility Warehouse, explained the background behind the reasons he was given the award this year.

He said: "I'd been working at Dean and Smedley, Owen Jones, in Market Street, for 36 years, but before that, when I was 18 years old, a gentleman in the town called Robert Jones put me forward for a Rotary Club excursion to do with leadership.

"After doing that, I came back and said: "I'm going to do something for my community, as a little thank you to to the local Rotarians.

"And it spiralled from there. I ended up joining the Special Police Force, and did six years with them, then I progressed that with them.

"But I chose to stay at the shop and put all my efforts into a retail crime initiative.

"This aimed at getting local shopper crime as low as we could get it, and having a working relationship with our local police.

"As a result, there's been a good working relationship with the town council, if you work together, you can achieve things."

Dean says that, while the pandemic has had an effect on his efforts, his links with the town's people are deep rooted.

He added: "It's not just been 2020, I've had a passion to want to help the community. From reducing shoplifting through retail radio schemes, to a shop having a fall in the town and I can arrange for a paramedic or a first responder, to a lost child with the parents knowing they could go into a shop and put a message out.

"Then I can go home and say 'I've helped today'.

"I get a lot of satisfaction when people say 'well done' or 'thank you'."

"In the pandemic, we united to try and get people to support their local businesses. It wasn't just about fighting retail crime and making the community safer during 2020."