THE chairman of Blackmore Tennis Club in Essex has been recognised for her dedication to the sport after winning the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Volunteer of the Year for the East at the British Tennis Awards.

Carol Moulder, 55, from Blackmore, has been central to the club’s improvements in recent years introducing Cardio Tennis, developing the junior section and increasing the number of members.

Carol, who has been a member of Blackmore Tennis Club for 20 years, admitted she didn’t even know she’d been nominated for the award.

“It was a complete surprise,” she said. “I had no idea I’d been put forward for the award but it was a lovely surprise. But I can’t take all the credit. We’ve got an exceptional committee so they deserve this as much as anyone else.

“I’ve been involved with the club for a long time and have got a lot of enjoyment out of the work I’ve done. It’s a small club but we do very well for our size, especially in the local leagues.

“We’ve just celebrated the club’s 25th anniversary and more than 80 people came – it was a great event.” Carol received her award at London’s O2 arena during the Barclays World Tour Finals. During the event guests were invited to watch LTA player of the year, and world number three, Andy Murray during his successful opening round match against the Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych.