OXFORD MAIL reporter Ben Wilkinson has won a national award for his work on Operation Bullfinch.

Ben was named Daily Reporter of the year at the 2014 Regional Press Awards yesterday.

Our crime reporter covered the whole of Operation Bullfinch, following which seven men from Oxford were found guilty of abusing six girls in the city between 2004 and 2012.

He spent four months following their trial at the Old Bailey, which concluded on May 14 last year with the gang jailed for a total of 95 years in June.

The judges described his reporting as “a journalistic tour-de-force with immense power and sensitivity.”

Deputy picture editor Richard Cave was commended at the Society of Editors awards ceremony held at London’s Lancaster Hotel.

The judges said: “Combining imagination with clever and funny photographs, Cave’s pictures gave a true sense of the story.”

The Oxford Mail’s special report covering the Bullfinch trial was highly commended in the supplement category.

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Richard Cave

Oxford Mail assistant editor Jason Collie said: “There is nothing I can add to the judges’ remarks that would better describe Ben’s reporting on Bullfinch.

“This award proves that his coverage of the trial was peerless.

“We’re also delighted for the richly-deserved commendation for our deputy picture editor Richard Cave because he is a talented photographer.”

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