Crime reporter Phil Mills has been named Reporter of the Year by media group Newsquest.
Phil, 50, has been a reporter at The Argus for 21 years and is also assistant editor.
In Southampton last night, he beat entrants from Newsquest-owned papers round the country to collect the prestigious award.
His winning entry included the campaign to change the law to make it easier to secure convictions against child abusers.
The campaign followed a tragedy in which three Brighton babies died but the courts could not find their guardians guilty of murder because it was not clear which of the two was responsible for the deaths.
Phil met then Home Secretary Jack Straw to lobby him for change.
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