A care group started by a farming family has been named top in the country at two awards events.

Bury St Edmunds based Stow Healthcare Group was named as Care Group of the Year at the National Care Awards and the Caring UK Awards.

The company is run by brother-and-sister team Roger Catchpole and Ruth French. They started the business alongside their mother, Catherine Catchpole.

The family started with one care home on the family farm at Stowlangtoft near Bury St Edmunds but has been expanding since and now runs six homes across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

Brandon Park, Ford Place at Thetford and Stowlangtoft Hall have all achieved "outstanding" ratings from national inspection body the CQC.

The group also owns Melford Court at Long Melford and Halstead Hall, which are both rated "good", and Cedars Place at Halstead.

Caring UK judges said: β€œThe winning care group is an innovator who has not stood still at all during the pandemic. It has a reputation as a disruptor in the industry, acquiring homes with the most difficult history and poorest rating and driving them forward to CQC outstanding rating home. They simply aim to be the best quality care providers in East Anglia.”

Individual staff members Gina Galloway, Maureen Tilbrook and Heather Choat have also been singled out for awards.

Mrs French said it had been a "hugely successful" period for the company.

"To have so many staff reach finals, let alone win national awards has been remarkable. To receive these awards is such a morale-boost for our staff, the fabulous residents we support, and the communities in which we live. It leaves us excited for what we can achieve in 2022,” she said.