A WEST Devon charity that helps imprisoned parents keep contact with their children is celebrating after winning a prestigious national award.

Storybook Dads, which is based in Dartmoor Prison but operates in prisons across the country, was crowned the winner of a main category of the Children and Young People Now Awards 2014.

The charity took home the prize for the Children and Young People's Charity Award and came highly commended in the family support award.

Chief executive and founder of the charity Sharon Berry attended a glittering awards ceremony in London last week with fingers crossed for winning an award.

She said: 'It was announced that we had got highly commended in one of the categories and we thought we had done really well but then to have actually won an award was amazing.

'There were nine other charities in the category so competition was very fierce.

'It is quite a prestigious award so we are very proud to have won.'

Storybook Dads works in more than 100 prisons across the UK enabling imprisoned parents to maintain family contact as well as providing training and employment for hundreds of prisoners, improving their skills and chances of rehabilitation.