Eastern Daily Press deputy editor James Ruddy has been awarded a Rotary International Humanitarian Reporting Award.

James, (48), was awarded the regional media award after helping to raise millions of pounds of cash and aid.

For the past 13 years he has helped victims of war, disasters and civil upheaval in countries as such as Croatia, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Romania and Sudan, taking part in a variety of missions, including helping save the lives of 300 abandoned babies in Khartoum.

James said: "This came completely out of the blue and is a great honour. I'd like to pay tribute to the countless EDP readers who have come up with the cash that has made the aid missions happen.

"My own colleagues on the EDP and in other parts of Archant have also helped in many quiet ways."

Graeme Paton, a former Hull Daily Mail and Nottingham Evening Post journalist who now works for the Times Educational Supplement, won the national media award.

He was recognised for his work highlighting many global issues from ethnic and racial issues to those relating to school security and sexually transmitted diseases.

Presenting the awards, Gordon McInally, President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland said: "These new awards celebrate the centennial of Rotary International and recognise outstanding humanitarian-based news reporting and the contribution made by journalists to helping the general public better understand humanitarian, health, education and cross-cultural issues."