THE owner of a Culcheth restaurant which was hailed for its kindness during the pandemic is in line for a national prize.

The Raj, which offered daily free curry meals to parents struggling to provide meals for their children during the pandemic, has reached the final 10 selection stage in the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2021 Coronavirus Hero category.

Anhar Miah, of the Raj Indian Restaurant, Common Lane, has been praised for putting his local community first as he continued supplying free meals for several months.

And again when Culcheth and neighbouring villages Glazebury and Croft suffered flooding in winter Anhar again came to people’s aid by providing meals for those who needed them.

Anhar reached the Coronavirus Hero selection stage out of 300 nominations overall chosen by the public.

The other categories are Act Of Courage, Active Agers, Against All Odds, Charity Champion, Celebrity Hero, Young Hero and Hero Pet.

Four finalists will be selected in each category and the winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 5.

Falklands War hero Simon Weston chairs the judging panel and presents the awards.

Mr Miah also won an award in the Warrington Guardian Lockdown Awards, presented by Dr Hillary, earlier this year.

Anhar said: “We have been here 22 years and even during the pandemic our customers have supported us.

“I think what we have done is a fraction of what they have done supporting us for those 22 years.

“When the virus first started in lockdown, everyone was struggling and so we thought we should do our little bit.”