Greatest Hits campaign sees England footballer Beth Mead given top award

The Lionesses is set to receive Freedom of the Borough of Scarborough at a special ceremony

Author: Liam ArrowsmithPublished 20th Mar 2023

England footballer Beth Mead is set to receive a top local award in a special ceremony, following a Greatest Hits Radio campaign.

Hundreds of people signed a petition started after councillors left the Lioness, who grew up near Whitby, out of the last round of awards.

That's despite her instrumental part in their win at the Euros in 2022, where she scored the most goals in the competition.

It's also been backed by North Yorkshire's football teams, including York City and Harrogate Town, the manager of Beth's former side Sunderland, and local MP Sir Robert Goodwill.

Earlier this month, the council finally announced that Beth would be given the award at it's final civic awards ceremony before it's absorbed by a new county wide authority.

Dame Katherine Grainger, the chair of UK Sport, has described Beth as an inspiration to young girls looking to get into football.

She said: "It must mean so much to Beth to come back home and see kids running around in England tops with her name on the back of it"

"No-one imagines that's the future we could have, and to have that impact and reach, it's really important for athletes to be able to do that."

England rugby player Zoe Aldcroft, who's from Scarborough, will also be given the award.

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