A keen football fan who works in Bala has transformed the life of a youngster in his care after sharing his love of the game.

As a result Daniel Squire has been shortlisted for one of this year’s Wales Care Awards, organised by Care Forum Wales to recognise outstanding work in the care sector.

The awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony at City Hall, Cardiff, on 18 October, and Daniel, 33, has been nominated in the category for residential care practitioners.

Compere for the evening will be tenor and radio presenter Wynne Evans, better known as Gio Compario in the Go Compare TV ad.

Daniel is a team leader with Branas Isaf, which is part of the CareTech group which provides care and support for children and young adults.

He works at Dewis, one of the organisation’s homes in Bala, which accommodates four lads aged 15-17 with challenging behaviour.

He has worked in the care sector for seven years, five of them with Wrexham County Borough Council’s social services department where he cared for children with complex problems.

He joined Branas Isaf in 2018 and took to the job immediately, impressing his superiors and, more importantly, making an impact on the lives of the youngsters.

Daniel was nominated for the award by Laura Hughes, a home manager with Branas, who said that in the short time he had been there, his support and commitment for her had been invaluable. He has also helped to implement new systems for administrative tasks, assisted in reshuffling staff to better meet the needs of the young people and encouraged those around him.

See this week’s north editions for the full story, in shops and online now