A MAN who helped a young Partington girl come to terms with the death of her father and land her first full-time job has been rewarded for ‘going beyond the call of duty’.

Ian Fennell, who is the social inclusion officer for HITZ Partington, picked up the award at the national HITZ Awards at Barclays HQ in Canary Wharf last week.

Delivered across the North West by the Sale Sharks Community Trust, HITZ uses rugby to increase young peoples’ resilience, self-reliance and confidence.

Ian was nominated after helping 18-year-old Claudette Rennalls, from Partington, overcome serious anger issues that had affected her education since the death of her father.

He also worked tirelessly to improve her confidence, provided one-to-one support and helped her find full time work, which led to her securing a full-time retail job.

“This is much more than just a job to me,” said Ian.

“We take a real interest in the lives of the young people that we work with – and that doesn’t stop when they go home or when they get a job.

“Claudette has worked so hard to improve her confidence and to see her now in full-time work is immensely rewarding.

“I’m incredibly proud to win this award and I look forward to carrying on the great work of HITZ across the North West.”

Jonny Acheson, head of community operations at Sale Sharks Community Trust, added: “This award is fantastic recognition for Ian and the work that he does.

“He consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty for our learners. The evidence is in the lives of people like Claudette, who have really benefited from his help.

“We’re incredibly proud to be helping young people across the North West region through programmes like Hitz that really make a positive and lasting difference to local communities.”