Veteran Cleckheaton athlete Sheila Bolland has been honoured after more than a quarter of a century’s devotion to athletics.

The Spenborough & District Athletics Club member took centre stage at the Aviva Indoor World Trials and UK Championships at the Sheffield Institute of Sport.

She won an unsung hero of grassroots athletics award and performed a lap of honour with Olympic sprint queen Emily Freeman.

In additon, the 67-year-old part-time sports shop sales assistant was given a cheque for £1,000 from meeting sponsors to donate to the club or charity of her choice.

Not surprisingly, she chose the Spenborough club, bas-ed at the Princess Mary Stadium in Cleckheaton, that ironically put Freeman on the road to Beijing in 2008.

Freeman, now based in Wakefield, finished seventh in the Olympic 200m semi-final.

Sheila has been a member at Spenborough since 1983.

Having had an enjoyable, if not earth-shattering, running career that included three London Marathons, she turned her hand to throwing events.

She specialised in the hammer, where she rose to No 1 in her age group in the UK in 2008.

But more significantly and, as the Sheffield crowd were told over the public address system: “She has been the backbone of volunteer catering on club nights for as long anyone can rem-ember – running probably the best tuckshop in British athletics.

“She is a qualified official, mainly in field events, and works at nearly all the local meetings.

“She’ll participate in anything from 100m to cross country if the club is short-handed or needs representing.

“Ask anyone involved in anything in West Yorkshire about Sheila Bolland!”

Sheila, who had already enlisted as a meeting steward at the Sheffield trials before she knew of her award, said: “It was a fabulous day and gave me a chance to see things from the other side of the fence, being interviewed by televison as well as running on the track in front of the crowd.

“They interviewed Emily as well – who I’ve known since she was little – and was surprised that how nervous she still gets when the television cameras are on.”

Spenborough & District AC, formed in 1965, cater for all disciplines from track and field to cross country and fell running and meet every Monday and Thursday night at Princess Mary Stadium, Bradford Road, Cleckheaton.

Highlights of the meeting are to be shown on Channel 4 between 7.25am-8.55am on Sunday.