A regional daily feature writer has won an award for her work highlighting the plight of a refugee on her old patch.

Rachel Loxton was given the local print journalism prize at the Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards for a story published while she was a reporter at the Glasgow Evening Times.

Rachel, now a feature write for the Aberdeen Evening Express, highlighted the plight of Rida Naieli, a refugee living in the West of Glasgow who fled Libya after being shot by terrorists.

The story, published in August2015, told how Mr Naieli was shot in the leg seven times by gunmen and fled the country with the bullets still lodged in his flesh.

Rachel, pictured above, said: “It has been a privilege to speak to refugees, like Rida who I interviewed in this particular story, and report on their plight in the Evening Times.

“Glasgow is well-known for welcoming refugees so it is important for the local paper to cover these stories, especially since the unprecedented refugee crisis in Europe is one of the biggest stories in the world.”

Dani Garavelli, a features writer for the Evening Times’s sister title the Herald, also won the best print feature award for her story about Syrian refugees building a new life in Scotland.

John Wilkes, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council chief, said: “This year has seen an unprecedented number of entries for the Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards, as journalists in Scotland tell the stories of displacement that are the sad result of conflict and persecution in many countries of the world.

“We’ve also read many tales of struggle here in Scotland, with many refugees facing challenges from housing problems to destitution. While this makes tough reading, there have also been some heart-warming tales of welcome, and connection between Scots and their new neighbours.”