THE boss of Oakwood Theme Park has paid his own tribute to 'Dad of the Year' Mervyn Davies after presenting him with his trophy at the Radio Pembrokeshire Local Hero Awards 2013 earlier this month.

Mervyn was nominated for the award by his proud daughter Jane, who was full of praise for the help and support he has shown her and her family over the years.

Her son had leukaemia at two and a half and this meant she was at Llandough Hospital in Cardiff for nearly 12 months - only able to come home at occasional weekends.

As part of her nomination, Jane wrote: "Being up there was very tough on the whole family and I also had a nine-year-old son who had to attend school in Haverfordwest as normal. My husband tried his best to keep life ticking over as normal.

"When you're on a children's cancer ward, time is non-existent and I would phone my dad in the early hours just to hear him say 'What's wrong love?' and he would travel up just to be there.

"He's never once let me down. My son is now 22 and doing fine. My daughter was born whilst in Cardiff and sure enough my dad and mum came up to watch Nathan whilst I gave birth.

"My dad's supported me 100 per cent in my business over the years and this is my opportunity to thank him with all my heart for being there when I needed him the most," said Jane.

"That voice helped me through a very difficult 12 months. I love him dearly. I can't put into words what dad truly means to us as a family," she added.

Despite not being in the best of health himself, Mervyn now looks after his wife who has breathing difficulties.

He's raised a lot of money for the Welsh children's cancer charity LATCH over the years and is part of the Withybush Hospital League of Friends as well as the Royal British Legion.

After presenting Mervyn with his award, Oakwood Theme Park's Dominic Jones, said: "As a father myself I can only admire the love and devotion Mervyn has shown to his family over the years through some extremely difficult times.

"He's an inspiration to all of us and I am very much looking forward to welcoming him, Jane and the rest of the family to Oakwood later this year to enjoy some extremely well-earned entertainment,"