A PENDLE author has been named Lancashire’s Writer of the Year in recognition of a short story inspired by her teenage granddaughters.

It’s Jacqueline Davitt’s second Lancashire Authors’ Association award in three years.

The 61-year-old, from Barrowford, scooped the prize for her short story ‘Angels’.

She said: “Angels is a nightclub. I just set out to write a story for teenage girls because I have two teenage granddaughters.

“There is a little twist in the tale, which may or may not serve as a warning about the dangers of meeting lads in clubs.”

A former mental health social worker, Jacqueline, took up writing after early retirement around ten years ago.

Shortly afterwards, her books ‘Murder and Crime in Pendle and the Ribble Valley’ and ‘Witches and Ghosts of Pendle and the Ribble Valley’ were published.

Two years ago, her article Knitters in the Sun won her the Lancashire Authors’ Association award for the first time.

She said: “While I was working I just wrote bits of poetry. I decided that being retired from work didn’t mean I had to be retired from life.

“I am proud of the award because the Lancashire Authors’ Association is the oldest of its kind in Lancashire.

“Past members have included Victorian writer Edwin Waugh, so it is quite a prestigious group.

“There was some stiff competition because there are more than 100 members and some really good writers.

Jacqueline, who has two children and four grand-daughters, is volunteer librarian in the Lancashire Authors’ Association section at Accring-ton Library.