A FARNHAM man has received an award for his work as head of marketing and communications for the national military charity Blind Veterans UK.

David Bassom, 43, from Upper Hale, was among the winners at this year’s CharityComms’ Inspiring Communicators Awards.

There he was praised for having “taken communications at Blind Veterans UK to a new level of excellence” and for his “inspirational efforts for the centenary”.

Blind Veterans UK has enjoyed historic success during 2015, with the charity achieving record highs for its awareness, press coverage and beneficiary recruitment levels in its centenary year.

Mr Bassom said: “It is a huge honour to receive a CharityComms Inspiring Communicator Award, alongside some of the very best communicators in the charity sector.

“This award tops a very special year for me at Blind Veterans UK, as we’ve used the charity’s 100th birthday celebrations to generate more awareness and support of Blind Veterans UK and its vital work than ever before.”

Mr Bassom joined Blind Veterans UK 2012. He previously worked for such charities as Barnardo’s, the NSPCC, Tommy’s – the baby charity and Girlguiding UK.

Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s) was founded in 1915 and the charity’s initial purpose was to help and support soldiers, sailors and airmen blinded in the First World War.

But the organisation has gone on to support more than 35,000 blind veterans and their families, spanning the Second World War to recent conflicts including Iraq and Afghanistan.