THE Imperial War Museum North has blown away the competition to scoop the Large Attraction of the Year prize at the 2006 England's Northwest Tourism Awards.

The judges were impressed by the broad appeal of the Trafford Park based museum - with its excellent facilities for groups and families alike.

Judges also praised the IWMN for being an enjoyable and an informative place to visit and they were also impressed by its volunteer programme.

Jim Forrester, the museum's director, told Messenger: "We are absolutely delighted to have won Large Attraction of the Year. IWMN North has a great team of dedicated staff who work hard to make the important subject of war relevant to our visitors from the north west and beyond. I am very pleased that well over a million people have visited over the last four years and helped us develop this exciting new museum. We have a brilliant building with innovative displays and we hope many more people will come and experience how war has shaped so many lives."

The awards ceremony was held at Manchester's new Hilton Hotel and the prizes were presented by the TV personalities Gordon Burns and Dianne Oxberry.

The IWMN beat off competition from a range of other top north west attractions to win the Large Attraction of the Year gong, and these included Chester Zoo and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.