A STOW chief executive has been named as the best in the charity sector this year.

Deborah Alsina MBE, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, has been named Charity Chief Executive of the Year in the Third Sector Excellence Awards.

This award is given to a charity’s chief executive who the judges believe has consistently delivered excellence, dedication, innovation and commitment to the charity and the sector.

She has been chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK for nine years and at the time she joined the charity was facing enormous challenges with closure being a real possibility.

Under her leadership Bowel Cancer UK is now developing a ground-breaking programme of research, and the charity’s annual income is growing quickly and now stands at its highest ever level (£2.3m), representing a 33 percent increase in the last two years alone.

Ms Alsina said: “I’m very humbled to have won this prestigious award. It is a symbol of the hard work of staff and volunteers, as well as our inspirational supporters without whom we wouldn't exist.

"It celebrates the huge amount of work that Bowel Cancer UK does to save lives and improve the quality of life for all those affected by bowel cancer.”

Bowel cancer is the UK’s fourth most common cancer and second biggest cancer killer.

Every year over 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and nearly 16,000 people die from the disease. However bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early.