Veteran journalist Philip Evans had the tables turned on him as he hosted an awards ceremony for one of his newspapers.

The West Country managing director and editor, 65, found himself in the spotlight when he was honoured after 50 years in publishing.

Philip was getting set to reveal the community champions at the “Pride in Axminster” ceremony – run by Pulman’s Weekly News and View – when the microphone was snatched from him by deputy editor James Coles.

James revealed there was one more award – Local Media Champion – in honour of his boss’s golden jubilee in publishing.

Philip Evans receives his Local Media Champion award from staff member Jenna Wellman.

A reader had written to nominate Philip and enclosed £100 in cash for the newspaper’s favourite charity, as well as  a £25 book voucher for the editor.

The letter said: “Tonight there is another person whose extraordinary achievement needs to be celebrated and this is Philip Evans, the editor of Pulman’s Weekly News and View from Axminster.

“In recent months he has brilliantly embodied the town’s fight back from the Axminster Carpets disaster. He has used his skills as a journalist to get to the truth of the story and his stature as editor to raise local morale.”

Philip said: “When James grabbed the mic I thought he might have had one too many glasses of wine. I had no idea what was happening but it was a really nice gesture, especially as it came from a reader.”

The £100 donation will go to the Water Survival Box which Philip’s newspapers have adopted as their adopted charity for two years.

Philip is managing director of Devon, Dorset and Somerset Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of Tindle Newspapers Ltd, and also edits 15 community newspapers in East Devon, West Dorset and South Somerset with a combined free distribution of more than 40,000 copies.

Axminster Carpets has bounced back, a year after was rescued from administration after becoming one of highest profile West Country casualties of the recession