A regional daily court reporter has been honoured at an awards ceremony honouring the achievements of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Oxford Mail’s Annabal Bagdi won Young Journalist of the Year at the GG2 Leadership Awards after submitting three of her stories to judges.

Annabal, pictured above left, received her award at a ceremony held in London on Thursday.

On the same evening, Jaine Blackman, lifestyle editor at the Mail’s sister weekly the Oxford Times, won the Supplement of the Year title for the Oxfordshire Limited Edition magazine at the Midlands Media Awards in Birmingham.

Said Annabal: “It was a complete surprise. You don’t do this work expecting to win awards but it was amazing to win.”

Jaine added: “I’m thrilled we have won this award. The aim is to make Oxfordshire Limited Edition entertaining and informative for our readers but it’s great for its value to also be recognised by other media professionals.”

Mail editor Gary Lawrence said: “We are immensely proud of Annabal and Janie’s achievement, they have both worked incredibly hard.

“Annabal is a very diligent reporter who is meticulous in her court coverage. She has an eye for a good angle on a story and backs it up with good old-fashioned rock solid reporting.

“Jaine has brought a fresh focus to Limited Edition in the ten months she has edited the magazine. She has a great feel for what people want to read and it is no surprise that it has gone from strength to strength since she took over.

“This is also a reflection of the hard work of the sales team behind it as well. It is a wonderful team effort.”