Special award for veteran volunteer

Matlock Town fan and champion litter picker Ken Forbes has been honoured with a special community award.

For more than 40 years the 70-year-old has been voluntarily clearing rubbish from the terraces and stands at the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League club’s Causeway Lane.

Now a resident at Waltham House in Wirksworth, Forbes lived for many years in Brassington and regularly walked to Matlock on the morning after a Gladiators match and then back home again after clearing up - a round trip of 20 miles!

The supporter is pictured collecting his accolade from Derbyshire Dales District Council after the Premier Division club contacted them to let them know about his lifetime of devotion. In addition to a community award certificate, he was presented with a framed photograph, a commendation from Matlock Town and a Christmas gift from staff at the District Council's Matlock Town Hall headquarters, where he is a regular visitor.

Matlock Town Secretary and Evo-Stik NPL Vice Chairman Keith Brown, pictured alongside the supporter with Gladiators Chairman Tom Wright, reckons his recognition is thoroughly deserved.

Brown said: "Ken really has been an excellent volunteer for Matlock Town Football Club and is still working at the club even though he has recently been in hospital. I cannot recall how exactly Ken became involved. He just appeared one Sunday morning having walked all the way from Brassington and said he would like to keep the ground neat and tidy by volunteering to clear away all of the rubbish after every match."

He added: "In those early years attendances were always around the 1,000 mark so you can imagine the amount of paper, bottles and cans which was created. But Ken never failed to turn up on a Sunday, walking in all kinds of weather although his journey has reduced a little following his move to Wirksworth a few years ago. Ken is an outstanding individual and the tidiness of our ground is a credit to his very hard work."

Chairman of the District of the Derbyshire Dales, Councillor Peter Slack, said: "When Matlock Town contacted us to tell us how much Ken has voluntarily undertaken for the club and community since the early 1970s, we had no hesitation in agreeing to recognise his remarkable work."