A TICKET officer who welcomes Harry Styles fans to his home town is up for a rail industry Oscar.

Graham Blake has been nominated for a National Rail Award for his work with the local parish council welcoming fans of the One Direction star on their pilgrimage to the village.

The 62-year-old has been named in the outstanding personal contribution category of the awards.

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Graham flies the flag for the station online and even set up a Facebook page to provide information for ‘Stylers’ planning a visit to see where the singer grew up.

Graham said: “It puts our village on the map.

“I’ve had to create a Facebook page for all of the fans.

“We’ve had fans visit from Uruguay, Japan, Colombia, Canada and we’ve had loads of people from America visit.

“Everyone here has time for the fans and everyone has a story about Harry.

“It’s such a small village so everyone knows everyone.

“Harry has friends who live here so I know he comes back to visit when he can.”

Graham will find out if he has picked up the award at a ceremony in London on Thursday, September 12.

He is one of eight employees of the train operator Northern that have been shortlisted for an award.

The National Rail Awards recognise and reward people, companies and initiatives that demonstrate innovation and excellence in the industry.

They also seek to promote the industry’s longer-term success and sustainability, which relies on a highly skilled, diverse, motivated and engaged workforce.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.