Two Birmingham Post writers have been honoured with the industry's Oscars.

Post Style editor Caroline Foulkes was crowned Features Writer of the Year, while Chief Football Writer Hyder Jawad was awarded Sports Journalist of the Year at the Press Gazette's Regional Press Awards 2005 at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, London.

Caroline's portfolio included an interview with a West Midlands' tailor and the model/ singer/ author Jordan/Katie Price. And as always the judges were looking for that "extra sparkle".

Caroline, said the panel, had sparkle in spades with her "easy, pacey style on her clever piece on glamour model Jordan".

One judge said: "You could sense the sadness and the romance in her feature about the local tailor that I read down to the last buttonhole."

In the sports category, the judges' task was to balance reporting skills against beautiful writing and it was a portfolio including an interview with the coach of the Iraqi football team and tennis player Elena Baltacha that caught the attention.

The judges said it was the " elegant writing skills" of Hyder that inched him ahead of the rest.

The Post was also shortlisted for Business and Financial Newspaper of the Year, but was pipped to the post for the award by The Newcastle Journal.

Birmingham Post editor Fiona Alexander: "The Press Gazette awards are our industry's equivalent of the Oscars and I am absolutely delighted that both Caroline and Hyder have been recognised for their contribution to a great paper worked on by great people across all sections of editorial."

* Also this week Jo Ind was runner-up in the Commission for Racial Equality's Race in the Media Awards for her outstanding contribution towards racial understanding through her work in The Birmingham Post.