Fun and festivities at EIBA ceremony

More than 300 people turned out to eat, drink, socialise and celebrate the outstanding businesses in Shropshire at a magnificent Shropshire Star Excellence In Business Awards ceremony.

Held in the spectacular surroundings of Hangar One at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, guests ate in the shadow of many historic aircraft.

BBC Radio Shropshire breakfast show host Eric Smith was the compere for the evening.

He told the nominated companies: "The biggest thanks should go to you, our finalists. You have made it through two stages – impressing the judging panel first with your written entries and then surviving the scrutiny of the on-site visits.

He added: "This evening is for celebration, to acknowledge the very best in business, the best this region has to offer."

The evening began with a drinks reception sponsored by Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, before guests were given the chance to drink in the spectacular stage set-up.

In amongst the celebration, there was a serious message, as business owners dug deep to raise money for the event's chosen charity – the Midlands Air Ambulance.

A raffle on the night raised money for the charity, with prizes including first class tickets from Virgin Trains, Champagne, Land Rover driving experiences and four tickets to see Funny Girl at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Guests were moved by a speech describing the air ambulance's work by fundraiser Roger Cole, who lost his daughter Charlotte in a horse riding accident in 2011.

He explained how the air ambulance had landed in difficult terrain to treat her within the "golden hour" to give her the best possible chance of survival after she suffered her injury, and that since the accident one of the ambulances had been named in Charlotte's honour.

"We have to raise £7 million every year, meaning every time one of these aircraft flies they need £2,500 for every mission," Mr Cole told the audience.

"We wanted to put something back into that charity, give it as much support as we can."