THE father of Warrington bombings victim Tim Parry was awarded an honorary degree on Thursday at the University of Chester’s graduation ceremony.

Colin Parry OBE received a doctor of letters for his selfless work with The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation For Peace, which he founded in 1995 with his wife Wendy.

The foundation is dedicated to providing conflict resolution programmes and activities that benefit children, young people, adults, schools and communities everywhere.

The tireless campaigner, who was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2004, was joined by more than 2,400 students from the university who were celebrating their academic achievements during the four day graduation event.

Professor Wheeler said: “Each graduation ceremony symbolises the hard work and dedication that all our graduates have achieved. We wish them all good luck in their careers as they step out into their futures.

“It is always a proud moment to see our latest graduates gather with family and friends to celebrate this special occasion and we believe it is one of the most memorable of their lives.”

Colin was not the only familiar face to be honoured at the celebration.

Gymnast Beth Tweddle MBE, money saving expert Martin Lewis and jockey Carrie Ford were also presented with honorary degrees.

 SHE has put her heart and soul into studying for an undergraduate degree in journalism and her hard work has finally paid off after landing trainee journalist position at a global company in Holland.

Student Molly Johnson has shown she has a nose for journalism after she was selected as the winner of the Warrington Guardian Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Journalism.

The 22-year-old, who graduated from the university on November 6 at Chester Cathedral, said she was ‘shocked and honoured to receive the Warrington Guardian Award’.

Molly, from Shewsbury, said: “It is one thing knowing yourself that you are putting in maximum effort into achieving high results, but to find out it was also recognised by the staff in your department is very rewarding to know.”

Molly, who left university with a 2:1 degree, will now move to Tilburg to work for Atuna.com – the world’s leading website offering news to the tuna industry.

AFTER hooking himself a gold medal at the British University and Colleges Boxing Championships, Elliot Dillon has continued his winning streak.

The 21-year-old, who has a sports coaching degree under his boxing belt, graduated from the University of Chester on Thursday with a 2:1 after studying at the Padgate campus.

Elliot, who is now studying for a master’s in sports science at the university, is setting his sights high for the future.

The talented sportsman, who has been boxing since he was 14, said: “My short term goals are to continue to compete at boxing at the highest level I can while achieving my masters.

“Then I want to achieve a national title for boxing and either work as a coach or with the governing body helping to develop the sport.

“Ultimately, I would like to make it as an elite coach in the sport.”

Elliot, who was born in the Isle of Man but grew up in New Zealand, was recently awarded Chester Students’ Union’s Sports Person of the Year at its annual presentation evening.