Citizen of the Year: coffee shop manager was great role model for recovering customer Josie

Mr Fitzpatrick, of Costa Coffee at the Royal Priors in Leamington, was put forward by 69-year-old Josie Morrison (nee Brookes) who has been visiting the cafe for about five years.

Mrs Morrison has had to use a wheelchair for the past two years after she was seriously injured in a road accident and she said that during her recovery Mr Fitzpatrick was like a ‘role model’ to her as he maintained a positive outlook despite having to work after a knee operation.

She said: “That is the beauty of it - sometimes when something bad happens it is the support you get that helps you get better.

“The hospital can only do so much but it is the psychological support that you need to get through.”

Mr Fitzpatrick, 52, who has managed the Costa branch for seven years, said he was surprised to have been nominated.

He said: “We just wanted to lift Josie’s spirits because after the accident she seemed to be exceptionally down and it took her some time to get over it. I was just being me - always on the go and never stopping.

“It’s important to make time for customers and to show them you care - part and parcel of what we do here is to create that atmosphere.

“To win the award would be great because myself and the team pride ourselves on the way we are with people.”

The campaign to find the Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of The Year is now in its third year.

The event is run and managed by The Brakes Trust in conjunction with the Leamington Courier, Warwick Courier and Kenilworth Weekly News.

Nominations of no more than 150 words listing the outstanding qualities of the individual must be marked “Coty” including the name, address and phone number of the sponsor and sent to [email protected] or hand delivered to Courier offices at 32, Hamilton Terrace, Leamington Spa CV32 4LY no later than Monday, September 2. Any young citizen must be no older than 16 on the closing date.

There were over 20 nominations last year and the quality was so high that the judges’ panel encourages readers to nominate the same individuals again.

The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance has been chosen as this year’s charity. The awards ceremony will be held at a new venue Guy Nelson Hall, Warwick School, Warwick, on Sunday September 29.