A regional daily’s chief reporter has been honoured for his work in highlighting the plight of the mentally ill.

Sam Blackledge, left, of Plymouth daily The Herald, was named ‘journalist of the year’ at this week’s Mind media awards in London.

Earlier this year Sam led The Herald’s Safer Spaces campaign, which aimed to highlight the issue of mental health patients being detained in police cells.

Since then the Government has brought forward plans for an outright ban on the practice as part of the Policing and Criminal Justice Bill.

Said Sam:  “It was quite a risk for a local paper to launch a campaign about mental health. We didn’t know where this idea would lead us, and never imagined it would attract such support and praise.

“I would like to thank everyone who supported Safer Spaces, in particular Devon and Cornwall Police and Plymouth Community Healthcare. It is often difficult to access information on such a sensitive topic, but they made my job so much easier.

“The Herald’s editor, Paul Burton, deserves credit for trusting my hunch and giving me the freedom to pursue this campaign.

“Most of all, I would like to thank the people suffering with mental health issues in Plymouth who bravely told us their stories, and the families of those who are no longer around to share in our success.”

Sam was nominated for the award alongside reporters from The Times, the Lancashire Evening Post, BBC Look North and BBC Somerset.