Senrabs Tony Carroll receives his award from Phil Sammons of the Essex FA

Senrab club secretary Tony Carroll was acknowledged for more than 30 years of service to the east London club.

Senrab club secretary Tony Carroll was acknowledged for more than 30 years of service to the east London club at last week’s Essex County FA Awards evening.

Carroll is a real community hero as he works tirelessly to keep local youngsters playing grassroots football year after year – and was presented with the Outstanding Service award.

The club have an outstanding history of nurturing youngsters who go on to play professionally, with Jermain Defoe and Ledley King among those to have successfully made the step up.

And when the club faced financial difficulty last year a host of ex-Senrab players, including Chelsea skipper John Terry, pledged money to help the club that remains dear to so many.

At the awards evening held at Regiment Way Golf Club in Chelmsford, Essex FA chief executive Phil Sammons paid tribute to the volunteers across the county, like Carroll, who work tirelessly to keep the amateur game going.

“Grassroots football simply wouldn’t exist without the selfless hard work of volunteers and each individual is worth their weight in gold several times over,” he said.

“At the Essex County FA we’re proud to be able to say thank you and to recognise what is a small fraction of the overall workforce in our football-rich area.”