THERE were tears and laughter as the Pride of Gwent winners shared their stories at an awards event yesterday.

Held at the Coldra Court Hotel, the awards, in association with headline sponsors Newport City Council and Monmouthshire Building Society, were an opportunity to present awards to the 14 winners as well as reveal the winner of the main award - the overall Pride of Gwent Award.

The winner, chosen from among the 14 winners, was Daniel Biddle who lives in Abergavenny.

He won the Achiever Award and explained that he was the most seriously injured survivor of the terrorist attack on July 7, 2005.

Mr Biddle, who now volunteers his time with Gwent Police to help train officers in disability awareness and hate crime, paid tribute to his wife Gem for saving his life after he suffered post traumatic stress and tried kill himself three times.

Guests were in tears as she joined him on stage.

Full coverage of the awards will be featured in Monday’s edition of the South Wales Argus.