An Ealing woman has been shortlisted in a nationwide competition recognising outstanding care.

Nominations for the Towergate Care Awards have been whittled down to a final shortlist with Sharon McCrea, of West Ealing, making it to the final three in the Nursery School Worker of the Year category.

Sharon has spent 28 years ensuring that the children in her community have fun and inspiring opportunities to learn through play.

The 12 months have been seen council funding greatly reduced and two children with special needs required constant care - Sharon proactively managed this by securing monthly sponsorship from local businesses to help with the drop in funding and increased staff costs.

Kirsty Wainwright-Noble from Towergate said: “Towergate has longstanding relationships with many care organisations across the country, so we know the vital role carers play and have witnessed the high level of commitment and dedication from people working in this industry.

“We were astounded by the number of entries we received and it wasn’t easy to narrow down the nominations as they were all incredibly deserving in their own right.

“However, we believe the shortlisted individuals have demonstrated the highest level of excellence in care and deserve their moment in the spotlight.”

Now in its second year, the Towergate Care Awards recognise and pay tribute to individuals who go above and beyond to deliver the best quality care every day.

The winners of all ten categories will be revealed at a lunchtime event held at The Dorchester hotel on Thursday 23rd March.

The ceremony on 23rd March will be hosted by TV presenter and actress Denise Van Outen who will have just returned from her charity bike ride around India.