VAL Bryant has been named as Knutsford’s Community Hero for 2013.

The Grassfield Way resident came top of a vote, after being named alongside five fellow Knutsfordians in a shortlist revealed two weeks ago.

Val, who spends the majority of her time working as a trustee and volunteer at King Street-based Knutsford Heritage Centre, triumphed in the competition organised by Equilibrium Asset Management and the Guardian.

After the scores from competition judges – Colin Lawson, from Equilibrium Asset Management, Carla Flynn, Guardian editor, and town mayor Clr Vivien Davies – were compiled, Val came out on top.

Val wins £500 for herself, £500 for the charity of her choice – the heritage centre – while both Mary Gracie and Jennie Holman, the people who nominated Val, will receive £100 each. Jennie and Mary say they will donate their prizes to the centre.

Val, who first volunteered at the centre in 2007, before becoming a trustee three months later, and used to work at Quarry Bank Mill, said she was humbled after being told she had won.

“I’m shocked by it all really. I’ve never won anything like this.

“I’ve won research grants, but nothing quite like this,” she said.

“I’m just one of those people who gets on with it.

“But I feel quite proud in a way because this place really is for the town of Knutsford.

“I’ve always said it should be a place where all the past history of Knutsford is, so this is not for me, it’s for the town.

“The centre has huge potential and it has just needed a vision. I think I was the only who came in with a museum background, so I could see what it could become."