04 March 2026 •
[5 March 2026] Five ‘local heroes’ nominated by readers of the Southend Echo were special guests of c2c and Southend United Football Club on Tuesday evening for the club’s match with Truro City.
On Tuesday 3 March, five local heroes, as nominated by readers of the Southend Echo newspaper, enjoyed a complimentary matchday experience at Roots Hall courtesy of c2c and Southend United.
To mark International Volunteers Day, c2c recently teamed up with the Southend Echo to ask readers to nominate unsung heroes in our local communities who regularly volunteer their services, going above and beyond to help and support good causes and the needs of others.
Having sifted through the wide range of nominations, the five chosen winning local heroes each received four complimentary tickets to Southend’s match with Truro City.
Greeted on their arrival at Roots Hall by Southend star, Leon Parillon, the five winners in attendance were:
Matthew Fright – Lead Support Worker at St Vincent de Paul Society
“Matt runs a well-attended weekly course that supports those in the community with problematic drug and alcohol misuse (SMART Recovery). He also developed the ‘The Hungry Cupboard’ initiative which is a physical cupboard taken to local schools to teach children about food poverty.”
Nathan Mills
Nathan is a two-time brain cancer survivor who always puts those around him first. He is quick to help those in need within the local community.”
Lisa Walton - Senior Fundraising Lead at Southend YMCA
“Lisa is a kind, generous and supportive member of the community, always going above and beyond to help others through her work with Southend YMCA, but also with many other important charitable causes. No one is more deserving of being named local hero than Lisa.”
Rob McAvoy – Project Southchurch
“Rob is incredibly proud of the area he lives in and represents. He is one of the most connected and vocal community leaders, and bursts with pride when talking about Southchurch. Everything he does is to make things better for the community he lives in – his civic pride is unrivalled.”
Sean & Kaye Perotton - KL Performance running club
“Sean and Kaye run a weekly athletics club in Rochford for children of all ages and abilities. Their primary focus is on giving the children a fun and safe environment where they can work on health and fitness, improve their stamina and make new friends in the process. My children love the sessions and have shown real progress.”
Commenting, Lisa Walton, Senior Fundraising Lead at Southend YMCA, said: “I am so humbled and grateful to have been nominated for the local hero award, and I would like to say a huge thank you to c2c for the match tickets which I shared with my family.
“The atmosphere at Roots Hall was incredible, and I think Southend were deserving of the win. I can’t wait to go again!”
Commenting, c2c’s Managing Director Rob Mullen, added: “c2c is delighted to have partnered with the Southend Echo to give worthy local heroes the opportunity to enjoy Southend United’s game with Truro on us.
“Through our work at our stations and across the local area, we appreciate that there are many people who regularly go above and beyond to support the city of Southend and community initiatives in the areas we serve.
“As a thank you from c2c, we are delighted that some of our great people were recognised and rewarded with an evening at Roots Hall.”
Rylee Doe, Southend United’s Commercial Manager added: “We were honoured to host our deserving local heroes last night at our game with Truro City.
“Each of the nominated heroes has demonstrated a real commitment and passion for the city of Southend, providing opportunities and supporting those less fortunate than themselves.
“We hope they enjoyed their night under the lights at Roots Hall and will be back to cheer on the team again very soon.”
Notes to Editors
- c2c is the award-winning train operator running services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, serving 26 stations in East London and South Essex.
- c2c is one of the UK’s most punctual and popular train operators and nearly 37.3 million journeys are made on its services every year.
- The operation of all c2c services transferred into public ownership on Sunday 20 July 2025 and is managed by DFTO (DfT Operator Ltd).