A village florist is over the moon after winning a national title at an awards event hosted by Adam Henson of BBC's Countryfile.
Mum of two Emily Robbins, 29, runs Robbins Flowers in Debenham and is honing her skills on a course at Suffolk Rural College.
She was among around 200 people to attend the Land-Based and Environmental Learner Awards, which was organised by training body LANTRA and land-based colleges organisation LANDEX.
"I didn’t expect to win. When they read out my name I was shaking with happiness. I was over the moon,” she said.
“It’s a bit of recognition which is great. I’ve met some new people, my social network is building even more now – I think this will be really positive for my business.”
She added: “It was a really interesting evening and I met lots of people from across the country. Overall it was just brilliant. I was just really excited to be there and to network a little bit."
She was nominated by tutor Alison Liddiard.
“Overall it’s overwhelming being a national award winner but also very exciting and an amazing feeling,” she said.
Her aim now was to continue with the business and hopes to be able to take on more staff. She is also studying for her level three qualification at the college until June 2024.
Alison Jeffries - head of land-based studies at Suffolk Rural - joined Emily at the awards. “We are so proud of Emily. She is such an inspiration," she said.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here