The judges for this year's Stars of Lowestoft and Waveney awards have selected the finalists from a long list of worthy nominations.

The glittering award ceremony is being held at the Ivy House Country Hotel in Oulton Broad on Tuesday, October 10.

The awards honour unsung heroes from Lowestoft, Southwold, Beccles, Bungay, Halesworth and all the villages in between, giving them the recognition they truly deserve.

And representatives from the award sponsors met this week to go through the nominations and whittle it down to three finalists in each category.

Organiser Mick Parker, from Parker Communications, said: 'We had so many fantastic entries this year, and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate.

'Our judges had the hard job of shortlisting our finalists ahead of the ceremony, and we can't wait to see everyone on the night to celebrate some amazing success stories and congratulate all those who go above and beyond in our communities. It is guaranteed to be a truly special evening.'

The judges have also picked an overall winner from the category winners, as well as awarding a judges' special award and special recognition award.

The winners of each category will be revealed at the ceremony, which is being staged at Ivy House for the first time this year.

The organisers decided to move the ceremony to the new venue to accommodate more guests, with the previous venue - The Hotel Victoria in Lowestoft - which had played host to the ceremony for the past two years, continuing as a key sponsor.

This year's headline sponsor is Kingsley Healthcare.

Wasantha Darshana, marketing director for Kingsley, said: 'Our company headquarters are in Lowestoft and we are always keen to play an important part in our local community.'

The other sponsors are Lings Motor Group, Sentinel Leisure Trust, Norse, East of England Co-op Funeral Services, The Hotel Victoria, Cottages.com, Hoseasons, Potters Friends Foundation (Potters Resort) and Waveney District Council.

The Lowestoft Journal, Beccles and Bungay Journal and Eastern Daily Press are once again proud to be media partners.

The ceremony will once again be hosted by BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast anchor Mark Murphy.

The finalists

The nominees shortlisted for the Stars of Lowestoft and Waveney Awards this year are...

Unsung Hero: Angie Marnoch, Sally Turner and Nicky Blake.

Team of the Year: Albert Pye Panathlon Team, Youth Holiday Activities Fund for East Suffolk and

Student Support Leader Team at East Point Academy.

Bravery: Robbie Dunchow, Zara Dyer and Sarah Wright, who passed away this year.

Sporting Achievement: Amber Hannant, Jordan Catchpole and Curtis High.

Young Person: Jakk Jackson, George Clarke and Ashley Hobbs.

Community Champion: Tod Sullivan, Waveney Carers and Friends Circle and Park Run Lowestoft.

Uniform Services: Anne Willis, Hannah Roberts, James Horton and Harry Pickess and Lowestoft RNLI.

Charity Worker of the Year: Cathy Ryan, Courtney Parker and Beccles Friends of Cancer Research UK.

Education Star: Ormiston Denes Academy, Iain Owens and Johnny Lee.

Veteran Champion of the Year: To be announced on the night.