JOHN Greenway, the North Yorkshire MP who was responsible for successfully steering the British Horse Society-initiated Ragwort Control Bill through Parliament, has won the inaugural ePolitix Charity Champion Award for Animal Welfare.

The awards ceremony, which took place recently at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, was attended by a large number of MPs, peers, charity representatives and the Charities Commission.

The Ryedale MP paid tribute to the BHS and to Alun Michael, Minister for Rural Affairs, and his team at Defra for their help and support.

He said: "In June every year you can stand on the hill and look down on Ryedale Show.

"It has six rings to accommodate all the horses that come from miles around to take part. It's obvious that these are much loved animals and, sadly, too many horses die from ragwort poisoning."

The BHS had nominated him for the award and he was one of four MPs short-listed in that category.

BHS chief executive Kay Driver said: "We are very pleased that John's success in ensuring the Ragwort Control Bill reached the statute book has been recognised in this award.

"He has paved the way for a code of practice that will be admissible in evidence and will provide, for the first time, a strategy by which landowners and occupiers can formulate policy for effective ragwort control.

"We will never know how many horses' lives have been saved thanks to John, but he has earned the gratitude of every horse owner in the country."