Minister for Sport Kate Hoey was this year's guest of honour at the 27th Annual Regional Service to Sport Awards ceremony organised by Sport England East Region.

The event, this year hosted by Dacorum Borough Council at the Dacorum Pavillion, pays tribute to the best in regional sports photography and to the region's sporting volunteers.

Eastern Daily Press photographer John Hocknell was named Sports Photographer of the Year. His portfolio of five photographs showed consistently high quality but also an obvious eye for the unusual.

His winning photographs included an amusing shot of a croquet player searching for his ball, two runners training on a beach at sunset, a group of jubilant football fans celebrating a goal, and concentration captured on the face of a young table tennis player.

Mr Hocknell (60), of North Wootton, King's Lynn, was a clear winner in the competition and will receive a cheque for £250 and a trophy. He was unable to attend the ceremony and his prize was collected on his behalf by colleague Bill Smith, pictured below with Ms Hoey.

Mr Hocknell's win in this year's competition follows third places in 1997 and 1998, having regularly featured on the prize list during the early days of the award scheme, which was first introduced in 1981. He attributes his success to working in an area where there is a great diversity of sports for him to cover.

Runner-up was Jamie Niblock, chief photographer of the East Anglian Daily Times. Click here for presentation photograph

Michael Hall, of the Cambridge Evening News, was placed third. Click here for presentation photograph

Gareth Fuller, also of the Cambridge Evening News, won the Sports Photograph of the Year award.Click here for presentation photograph

Michael Hall, Gareth Fuller and Jamie Niblock display their awards

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