UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) chief executive, Ken Cronin said: “We are so impressed by all Emily has achieved at such a young age, that we felt she deserved recognition for her success and be awarded with the Young Person of the Year Award.”

Launched during the run up to UKIFDA EXPO 2021 this award will now be presented annually to a young person in the liquid fuels distribution industry who UKIFDA believes has gone above and beyond the call of duty and is becoming a rising star in the industry.

Mr Cronin added: “Emily was nominated by her managers and, after reading about her background and achievements, we felt she definitely deserves recognition – especially because as an industry we promote diversity and welcome individuals from every walk of life, and Emily is currently championing diversity in the industry.”

Emily joined Craggs Energy in 2015 on their apprenticeship scheme and has worked for the company ever since, first in customer services before moving into domestic and agriculture sales roles and operations.

“We wanted Emily to win an Award, she has done so much and helped so many customers as a young, female driver in the industry,” says Matthew Crockett, director at Craggs Energy.

“Emily’s energy and enthusiasm is boundless and has been since day one when she joined us as a sales apprentice. Since then, she has taken on various roles, including customer services and agricultural sales, and is now absolutely thriving in her operations role.

“For almost four years now, Emily has been making emergency and out-of-hours fuel deliveries to agricultural, commercial and domestic customers across Lancashire and Yorkshire. She is happy to go out late at night, in extreme weather, and travel to hard-to-reach areas, such as remote COVID-19 testing sites, to ensure places have the fuel needed to serve their local communities.

“She takes great care of people too, always ensuring our vulnerable customers who are part of our Cold Weather Priority scheme have a full tank of heating oil and that their heating system is working well.

“Her approach is always flexible, and she will happily drive a range of vehicles to make the deliveries, including Land Rovers, Ford Rangers, and Transit Vans. She is keen to get her HGV and ADR licence – and we are keen to support her with this as she becomes a fully-fledged tanker driver.

“We are so proud of Emily; of all she has achieved and all she does on a daily basis to make a difference to people’s lives.”

As winner of the Young Person of the Year Award, Emily was presented with her award at UKIFDA EXPO 2021.

Emily said: “I’m over the moon to have won the Young Person of the Year Award. I love my job and it’s great to know that what I do is appreciated and is helping people.

“When I saw the apprenticeship for Craggs Energy advertised in 2015, I was working in the childcare sector and was looking for a new challenge – being a sales apprentice within the fuel distribution industry certainly challenged me and boosted my confidence too.

“From day one, my managers have been so supportive, and I settled at Craggs really quickly. In a previously male-dominated industry, I’ve had nothing but support and encouragement from my colleagues and bosses, including from our chief executive Chris Bingham who was so happy when I went to him originally with the idea of making fuel deliveries. Together with other managers, he helped to make it happen and I’ve never looked back.

“I’m excited for the future and cannot wait to get started with studying for my HGV licence and making deliveries on tankers as well as on 4x4s.

“There is no reason women can’t join the operations side of this industry and make deliveries – and I hope that soon more women will join the sector.”