A night of recognising the people who make Thetford’s community tick is another step closer after the nominees for a special set of awards were chosen.

The inaugural Thetford Awards Recognising Achievement (TARAs) will take place on January 29 next year at the Carnegie Room.

Set up to recognise people in the town whose selfless efforts often go unnoticed, the awards were launched this summer with a call for nominations.

Judges ended up receiving nearly 200 nominations in just three months.

And after lengthy debate, those names were whittled down to a shortlist of three nominees in six categories.

The nominees are:

Business: Chilterns; Mark Skinner Funeral Service; Ryan Windsor.

Good Neighbour: Gwenda Buckley; Angie Kerry; Mark Maloy.

Bravery: Elliott Schofield; Michael Bowley; Andrew Goodwin.

Young Person: Kevin Gorman; Diogo Pacheco; Teenage History Club.

Sporting: Louise Dixon; Melanie Floyd; Kevin Sanford.

Volunteer: Lynn Ready; Sex, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Weeding; Sharon Thompson.

Mark Robinson, awards organiser, said the judging panel had a tough job to pick the nominees.

“The list was so strong, and there are a lot of people who would have been worthy winners, who we couldn’t even fit on the shortlist.

“It’s a great sign of how many people in the town do fantastic things, without recognition, and hopefully the awards will go some way to putting that right.

“Tickets are selling fast for what should be a wonderful celebratory night of everything that makes Thetford great,” he said.

Preparations for the awards night are in full swing, with tickets available to book.

Tickets are £22.50 each, available from www.leapinghare.org or Mark Robinson, on 07864 882768.