Beccles Town officials have more cause for celebration after being recognised at the Suffolk FA’s awards night.

Nearly 200 guests gathered at Trinity Park on the outskirts of Ipswich for the annual end-of-season event sponsored by McDonald’s, Ransomes Jacobsen and The KBB Centre.

Gordon McKenzie of Beccles Town collected his outstanding contribution to community football award while the club were highly commended in the FA Charter Standard Club of the Year category.

Gordon, a highly respected figure at the club, was recognised for his tireless work in youth football for St Benets Wasps and now Beccles Town Youth.

The double recognition rounded off a memorable campaign for Beccles, who will be playing in the top flight of the Anglian Combination next season after gaining promotion last season.

Guest speaker at the event was ex-Liverpool and Republic of Ireland defender Mark Lawrenson, now a respected pundit, who took part in a Q&A session.

Lawrenson talked about playing in the great Liverpool side who dominated the domestic scene and also enjoyed considerable success in Europe in the 1980s.

Guests of honour were Shaun Whiter and Joey Abbs, the two local footballers injured in a road accident in Newmarket last July.

They spoke about the support they have since received from the football community, how Shaun has learnt to walk again with the help of prosthetic legs and how Joey has recovered sufficiently to take part in pre-season training with Fulbourn Institute.

A total of £1,000 was raised for Shaun and Joey through a game of Heads & Tails for the chance to win match tickets and corporate hospitality for the England versus Slovakia World Cup qualifier at Wembley on September 4, courtesy of The FA.