Chairman of The Football League, Lord Mawhinney, joined the celebrations at Bristol Rovers to mark the club's 125th anniversary.

Lord Mawhinney presented the Rovers' Community team with their Bronze Award during the gala dinner at the Bristol Marriot Royal Hotel.

Rovers' Community Officer Wayne Noble was part of the team that accepted the Award.

He said: "We were honoured to have Lord Mawhinney come down.

"It was fantastic to receive the Bronze Award, as everyone has put in a great deal of effort this season."

Rovers' Community team are currently working with young offenders in HMP Ashfield, as well as running football courses in crime 'hot-spots' across the city.

Noble added: "We're trying to help young lads who've been in trouble and offer them a way in which they can sort out their lives.

"The coaching courses at Ashfield have been extremely popular.

"We are hoping to award around 25 young offenders their Level 1 coaching badge in the next few weeks.

"We're also implementing the Second Chance scheme, which gives lads an opportunity to play for sports teams when they're released."

Head of Community Peter Aitken explained how activities have improved since the inception of The Football League Trust.

He said: "Over the past 18 months there has been a far better structure to Community programmes here.

"Having the Trust as a central body has really helped us, and we think that good things are starting to happen."

The ex-captain added: "We're delighted to receive the Bronze Award as it recognises the hard work that all the guys have put in."

The club will now receive £24,000 which will be invested in Community activities.

Former managers Don Megson, Harold Jarman, John Ward and Ian Holloway also attended the dinner, and took part in a question and answer session with fans.

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