Clare Semke from Portsmouth daily The News has been named as the winner of a prestigious health writing award.

Judges from the Guild of Health Writers’ Writing Awards picked out Clare’s story about fighting Alzheimer’s as the regional newspaper health feature of the year.

Runner-up was Tom Shepherd, from the Oxford Mail, with other shortlisted candidates coming from the East Anglian Daily Times, The Sunday Post and South Wales Evening Post.

This year the Guild received a record number of entries with over 300 submissions from more than 100 writers, all vying for a share of the £6,000 prize fund.

Subjects that made it on to the shortlist ranged from surviving teenage cancer to the implications of saviour siblings and other aspects of fertility while topical features on swine flu and the effects of alcohol were also covered.

The other winners were:

Best National Newspaper Health Feature

Winner: Jane Feinmann, Daily Mail
When a trainee surgeon was let loose on this little girl

Runner-up: Victoria Lambert, Daily Telegraph
Made to save – the issue of saviour siblings

Best Consumer Magazine Health Feature

Winner: Susannah Hickling, Reader’s Digest
Don’t get sick after dark

Runner-up: Elizabeth Adlam, Reader’s Digest
The picture that saved a baby’s life

Best Trade and Specialist Publication Feature

Winner: Dr Christian Jarrett, The Psychologist Magazine
When therapy causes harm

Runner-up: Nick Warburton, Environmental Health Practitioner
Crocodile Fears

Best Online Health Contribution

Winner: Fergus Walsh, bbc.co.uk
Fergus on Flu

Runner-up: John Lister, Morning Star Online
The beginning of the end

Best Freelance Feature

Winner: Jane Feinmann, Daily Mail
When a trainee surgeon was let loose on this little girl

Runner-up: Susannah Hickling, Reader’s Digest
Don’t get sick after dark