National Express West Midlands’ Trevor Sale has beaten off competition from 45,000 colleagues from Morocco, America, Spain, Bahrain and Germany to become the Group’s overall Community Value Award winner.

Trevor, from Hollywood in Birmingham, works at the National Express trim shop on Miller Street, where he and a small team of skilled craftspeople fit and repair all the upholstery on the West Midlands bus fleet. But when he’s not fixing bus seats, he keeps the wheels turning for the Warwickshire Bears Wheelchair Basketball Academy.

Using the technical skills gained from his job on the buses, and in his own time, Trevor helps repair and maintain the chairs used at this popular wheelchair basketball club.

He does whatever is necessary to keep the wheelchairs on the court – from repairing punctures or damaged wheels to sourcing material and buckles for the wheelchair straps the basketball players need to safely secure themselves in the chair.

Dan Smith, the Treasurer of the Warwickshire Bears, said:

“Trevor is a fantastic guy. He’s done so much with all aspects of our gameplay. We basically couldn’t do what we do without Trevor.”

Warwickshire Bears Wheelchair Basketball attracts players from 10 to 60 years old, and the equipment has to be individually tailored to each player. By helping to repair chairs and equipment, Trevor keeps the club’s costs down and helps the players keep active.

On match days, Trevor is always on hand to ensure all the wheelchairs are match ready – blowing up tyres, checking the straps, setting up the game and even manning the scoreboard.

Trevor helps the academy enormously by fundraising. Each wheelchair costs nearly £3,000, so his efforts really are hugely appreciated.