Staff at Devizes-based butcher Walter Rose and Son are celebrating this week after being presented with special recognition of their contribution to the life of their home town and the county in general.

The Wiltshire Life Awards identify people and businesses that have made outstanding contributions to the county and this year the judges felt that Walter Rose & Son deserved special recognition - and announced a new Pride of Wiltshire Award to acknowledge the continued contribution the business makes to Devizes and Wiltshire as a county.

Walter Rose and Sons is one of the South West’s leading family butchery businesses with retail outlets in Devizes and Trowbridge – but it’s a business with a modern vision and dynamism which has secured its place the top flight of retail butchery outlets and made it the premier supplier to the catering industry.

Steve Cook, his wife Liz, brother Andrew and sons Jack and Charlie are all active in the business and they have nurtured close business relationships with their supply farms for more than 20 years. The business is a major supporter of the local community including sports clubs and teams as well as sponsoring individuals who include the Trowbridge-based GB bobsleigh champions John Jackson and Paula Walker. The special award was presented at a ceremony in Marlborough Town Hall on Friday evening when the judges said they had been so impressed with the contribution to Wiltshire’s business and community life that they felt it demanded a new all-encompassing award.

Steve Cook said: “I was away when I got the news that we had been recognised with this special award.

" It is extremely well received and we are all quite moved by the fact that they would create a special award for us which goes a long way to compensating our team for all the hard work and effort that they put in year on year."