The nominations are in and the hard task of deciding who will be crowned winner in 10 categories of the Ely Hero Awards this year is now up to the judges.

Dozens of people across Ely and in surrounding villages have taken the time to put forward inspirational members of their community for the third annual event.

The final nominations were received last night (April 29).

The next step will be for an interim meeting to be held to learn about the process the judges will go through.

From there, judges will interview nominees within their respective categories to learn more about them and the special things they do.

The likes of Councillor Lis Every, Gill Prangnell from Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce and Kate Patterson from the Thrive Programme are among the panel.

Community leader Stuart Green, who is behind the popular Sutton Beast run, is a new face on the panel this year.

He will be looking through the sporting hero category and choosing the most deserving winner from his wealth of experience.

Stuart said: “This category is a really interesting place to be.

“Its not just about performance or excellence but who goes that extra mile – someone who gives their time to help people achieve.

“It’s not necessarily about who scores the most goals or the most runs.

“It has to be someone with a little bit extra – that wow factor.”