Catherine Bertuccelli was nominated by the workmates on her walking team ‘Counting Beans’ as StepCount Challenge Volunteer of the Year, which encourages people to walk to work more and keep track using pedometers.

By keeping progress charts and awarding stickers to those who beat their own records, Catherine was an inspiration to her team mates at East Renfrewshire Council — and even helped her colleague Graham D’Arcy lose 11 pounds.

He said: “I have never taken exercise seriously.

“During the eight weeks with Catherine’s motivation and the Step Count Challenge, I have become fitter, healthier and more conscious of my lifestyle.

“My normal step count before the challenge on a daily basis was roughly 2,000 and during the challenge my average daily step count was 13,412.” The Celebrating Scotland’s Walking Champions’ awards ceremony is held by Scottish charity Paths for All, celebrating the achievements of volunteers and their contribution to getting Scotland more active.