PICKING the winner of this year’s Cooper Prize was no easy feat for judges as they saw a record amount of entries - but only one could take home the £1,000 prize.

The awards ceremony - which took place last Saturday - revealed the winners of the arts awards, with special guest arrivals from South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, Barnsley Mayor and Mayoress Mick and Elaine Stowe and the Barnsley Bard Ian McMillan.

Bagging the main award - along with a £1,000 prize sponsored by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority - was Sheffield sculptor Sam Sherborne for his steel sculpture titled Staying Alive.

Sam told the Chronicle: “I’m still amazed, it’s brilliant.

“I’ve had enough time now so it feels real, but couldn’t believe it for a while - I kept thinking I was going to wake up from a dream.

“The competition was tough so I do feel very lucky.”

Other awards included the Sadler Award for emerging artists - with a £500 prize sponsored by the Mayor of Barnsley - which was won by Katy Shaw with the ‘Goodbye Cataract’ pencil drawing.

There was also the Fox Gift Award for artists under 16, which offered a £100 award and was won by 15-year-old Charlotte Torrington for her pencil drawing titled ‘Timeless’.

All the winners, including a selection of other entries, are on display throughout the gallery until April of next year.