It was a night of celebrations as people who make Merton a better place to live were honoured for their hard work.

The first award presented on the night by Mayor Mary Curtin went to Bethany Grech from Mitcham.

She was given a certificate for her courage and swift action when she used the first aid skills she’d learnt as a London Fire Cadet to help save her mother’s life.

The sixteen-year-old found her mother Eileen collapsed on the floor at home suffering from sepsis.

After checking Eileen’s breathing, Bethany cleared her airways then called an ambulance. At the hospital Bethany was told that her first aid skills had saved her mother’s life.

The second recipient of the night was Wimbledon based Business Clan, for winning 'employer of the year' at the Federation of Small Businesses London awards earlier this year.

It beat off stiff competition from 11 other nominees in the category and it was the ethos of inclusivity and flexibility in the workplace that stood out.

The final award was given to Merton Council’s business systems team in recognition of the work they have carried out on street data.

The team received three awards at this year’s GeoPlace conference in Birmingham, which included ‘best in London region’ which is given to the council which has attained the highest standard in national tests on address and street data excellence and supply of regular updates to the national hub which manages receipt of address and street data from all authorities in England and Wales.

Cllr Curtin congratulated all the award winners.

"It was such an honour to meet Bethany, the Business Clan and the business systems team and present them with their certificates.

"Their dedication is second to none, and their hard work helps the council to make Merton a great place to live, work and visit.”