SOUTHERN Daily Echo naval correspondent Ali Kefford, pictured, has won a major national award for her coverage of the Royal Navy's war against terror in the Arabian Gulf.
She was presented with the Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award at a London dinner last night.
Ali, 31, who is also the paper's chief feature writer, won the award for her stories about HMS Southampton, including those filed from the ship as marines were deployed into Afganistan last autumn.
This is Ali's third major award.
She's previously been the Newspaper Society's feature writer of the year (paid-for weekly papers) and the BT South West region feature writer of the year 2001.
"Visiting HMS Southampton in the Arabian Gulf is something I'll never forget. It was tense and sometimes dangerous," said Ali. "Yet, even though they had been away at sea for months, morale among the sailors was still very high."
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