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I felt compelled to write to you about a very special person called Marc Crockford, of Slough, who I feel needs the praise he deserves.

As a child, my father left me when I was eight years old without teaching me any real life skills. Fast forward 28 years and I'm lucky enough to have three beautiful children including one son who's name is Freddie.

Having had speech development problems early on in his life he's slowly overcoming this obstacle. I want him to grow up with fond memories of his childhood and I decided to take him fishing. Now, if any of you readers are in the same position as I am, you'll understand how crippling the last 12 months have been. A left job, depression and difficult finances meant we had to start cheap. So I took Freddie fishing on a small complex near me with a Middy White Knuckle pole I bought off marketplace for £ 5!

He was quickly up and running catching 50+ small fish to 1lb in a two- hour session, but he got bored. "Daddy I want to catch big fish."

On our first big- fish session, he'd landed an 8lb carp so his mind had been made up. Big fish or no fish.

Without the funds to finance his interests, I reached out on Facebook and was approached by Marc. I was sceptical at first because he promised he could help get Freddie set up for free, which I didn't believe. But 10 days later he messaged saying he had the bits! We made the 90- minute journey to Marc's and I genuinely can't tell you how glad I was to have trusted him.

From the minute we met Marc, we truly felt in capable hands. His passion and ambition to encourage young anglers into the sport was so clear as he engaged both Freddie and I with stories of young anglers he'd successfully set up over the last few years. Fred was insistent he wanted to fish for larger carp so Marc kindly set him up with enough kit to get him on the bank. His generosity to children he supports is unheard of. I've seen other initiatives in the UK but none as generous as Marc.

Since meeting him, he's supported Freddie and I on our journey and is at the other end of a phone if I have any questions or concerns. It seems not only have we met a kind ' sponsor' but also a friend. It's rare you find people like Marc – big heart, positive intentions and the desire to make our future generation happy. Not only has he helped Freddie start a sport he loves but he's helped create a stronger bond between Freddie and I. We now get some ' boy time' together away from the girls of the house.

I'm glad we met Marc, he's one of the kindest people we've met for a very long time. Without people like him, Freddie wouldn't have had this opportunity. It's people like him who will ensure our younger generation continues to learn one of the best sports to relax and to bond with our loved ones. Marc, has absolutely made our year and deserves recognition for his hard work getting young anglers out on the bank!

I packed up fishing around a decade ago as family life simply took over. Back then, I used to fish commercials, happy to put the net under a few carp. The pandemic left me, like many others, twiddling my thumbs so I decided to have another crack at fishing.

My first visit to the tackle shop was an eye- opener as so many things have changed! I’d never even heard of a flatbed Method feeder, let alone used one! Once I’d bought the basics to get going again, I went to a local fishery.

A handful of pellets went in the margins, a grain of corn on the hook and the float was dropped in the margins. It didn’t take long to get a bite and, as the rod bent over, I thought it was inevitable that a carp would be attached.

After five minutes the fish broke the surface but it was no carp – it was a 3lb barbel! It was soon in the net and I couldn’t believe my luck as it was the first one I’d ever caught! I caught a couple more barbel, a tench, three carp and a fish that looked like a huge roach

( I was later informed it was an ide).

The variety kept things really exciting and I’m told a lot of other commercials offer a similar thing. That’s a really positive step forward and it will definitely keep more people visiting the bank.

Star prize package 5kg of boilies

5kg of pellets

2 x tubs of pop- ups

Last year was one to forget on so many levels but I am so pleased that fishing was one of the few winners. I spent more time than ever on the bank because of the pandemic and loved every minute of it.

The banks of my local fisheries were as busy as they’ve ever been, tackle shop workers were constantly telling me how busy they’d been and a lot of newcomers got involved.

But the impetus should now be on maintaining that progress. Those newcomers need nurturing to stay involved for life and local tackle shops need to remain supported. Our sport boomed in 2020 and I hope that trend continues in 2021.

Runner- up prize 1kg of boilies

1kg of pellets

1 x tub of pop- ups