A MUSICIAN who has helped dozens of youngsters take their first steps into the music industry is celebrating after landing the latest Three Cheers! award.Nick Townsend has been rewarded for his self-less work.

Nick Townsend has been hailed "a lifesaver" by his nominee, Adam Parsons, who says he has "stopped at nothing to help and support youngsters and inspire struggling musicians."

"Not only has he given people the chance to get into something constructive like music, but he has also shown many people a different path from misery and addictions, myself included," said Adam.

"My life would be different without him - he is one of a kind."

Nick, from The Horsefair, Kidderminster, is the latest monthly winner of the Three Cheers! awards, launched earlier this year to celebrate unsung heroes in the district who go out of their way to help others.

The awards are coordinated by the Shuttle/Times and News and sponsored by Wyre Forest Community Housing, who provide a £100 cash prize for each of the selected monthly winners.

Nick, winner of the September award, was a student at Kidderminster College, studying music management, when he helped create and set up the college's own MAS record label two years ago, designed to give young people in the area the chance to release their own music.

Since leaving college last year, he has returned on a voluntary basis to run the label and has also helped organise monthly band nights at Redwoods wine bar in Kidderminster, while also attempting to make his own breakthrough into the big time with his own band Weak13.

Nick, a guitarist, has also set up the cheekily titled PMT magazine - "it means Promotional Marketing Tool", he says - which is distributed free around the region and includes interviews and previews about Wyre Forest bands and gigs.

"I don't make hardly any money out of any of the things I'm involved in but I just love music and love being able to help people who are enthusiastic about making music.

"A lot of the people I meet have not had the best opportunities in life. I just want to make sure they have a chance," he added.

Adam, from Kidderminster, said he was nominating Nick because he had played a key role in helping him turn his own life around.