Review of the year: Inspiring tales that warmed Shropshire's hearts in 2015

Some are through perseverance, some through misfortune or hardship, but all are examples of achievements that can inspire us all.

It may have been two months after Christmas but in February, transplant patient Neil Stevens returned to work after being given the ultimate present – the gift of life .

The 46-year-old was donated a kidney by a total stranger, one of fewer than 400 people in the UK to benefit from a practice that only became legal in 2007. Mr Stevens, from Shawbirch, Telford, had been on the transplant list since February 2013.

In Oswestry, a couple discovered they were a match in more ways than one when a wife saved her husband's life by donating one of her kidneys to him after learning she was the perfect donor. Adrian Hill, 47, was born with one kidney and at the age of 38 he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

Mr Hill always knew the disease would eventually result in him needing a donor but never imagined that person would come in the form of wife Nicola, 45.

Following the initial blood test, Mrs Hill underwent months of testing before the big day arrived on August 3 this year which saw her give her husband the gift of life at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

In April, Kyle Williams, Richard Clarke, George Jacks and Mike Baker got on a plane for California, and then set out on an epic 4,000-mile adventure across the USA.

The four young men, all from south Shropshire, were to travel through 15 states to raise money for Joel's Wish, a charity set up in memory of Ludlow teenager Joel Lawrence, who died of cancer aged 19. Kyle, a 23-year-old website designer, was to cycle the whole distance, with his friends as support team.

They arrived in New York's Time Square in July and returned home to Ludlow triumphant, having raised more than £15,000.

In May there was an astonishing story of the heroism of two men who had flown out to Nepal after the devastating earthquake there. Ed Hullah, from Newcastle, near Clun, and Phil Llewellyn, from Worcester, ended up borrowing the Nepali Prime Minister's helicopter to save a woman who had been caught in a landslide and made national and international headlines.

In May, Oswestry's Booka bookshop was named best independent bookshop in the country. Carrie and Tim Morris, from Booka, picked up the prestigious prize at a glamorous awards ceremony at The Hilton, London.

Two of Shropshire's athletes have kept on running and running throughout 2015.

Shropshire-born fundraiser Mark Vaz decided to attempt to run a marathon every day throughout last summer to raise money for the hospice charity Tommy and Katharine House in Stafford.

He completed 26 miles every day for 90 days, fitting running in with his window cleaning job and raised £6,500.

But Mark says he will keep running to raise even more funds and awareness of miscarriage.

He and wife Tammy have had to cope with the grief of six miscarriages.

Mark carried on his daily running and is now pursuing the dream of 400 marathons in 365 days.

He said: "I have until July 7 next year to finish.

"Recently I ran from Stafford to London in three days which involved a 70-mile run on the first day."

Amy Hughes, 27, ran into the record books the previous year completing 53 marathons in just 53 days.

Not content with her achievement, the Oswestry athlete has since been involved in a number of high-profile events.

She helped Blue Peter presenter Lindsey Russell train for the London Marathon in April, running from Oswestry to London before joining Lindsey on the start line. She has also been a speaker as running and motivational events.

She also won the won the 'best running moment of the year" at the 2015 Running Awards and finished 2015 off the only way she knew how – with a marathon mud run on the edge of her home town.

The run was part of her 12 days of Christmas challenge which saw her go out of her comfort zone to take part in 12 different sports.

In July the amazing story of Julie Davies came to light. The 58-year-old, from Shrewsbury, has no legs, only one arm, is blind and suffers from diabetes. But instead of giving up on life or feeling down, she shared her passion in life and the new outlet to use her energy – carriage driving.

Also in July, an heroic witness came to the rescue after two men were seriously injured when their plane nose-dived and crashed just seconds after taking off from an airfield in Shropshire. The light aircraft ended up upside down and in flames after crashing at Shifnal Airfield, off Shaw Lane, with the pilot and his passenger trapped inside. It could have been much worse but for a fellow plane enthusiast dubbed a "hero" by emergency services.

A mother who collapsed at home praised the quick-thinking actions of her five-year-old son who made a potentially life-saving 999 call. Linzi Isaac, 22, was at her Welshpool home with son Leon and one-year-old daughter Mia when she suffered an unexpected seizure. Leon calmly called for an ambulance, and with instructions from a call handler was able to put his mother in the recovery position, check his little sister was safe and unlock the door for paramedics.

Later in the year, downhill mountain bike racer Rachel Atherton was on top of the world after landing her third world championship and second World Cup – and said it was all down to the countryside in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

The 27-year-old, a former pupil of the Marches School in Oswestry, credited her wonderful surroundings and facilities for a large part of her success.

In October, after a year of battling bone cancer, brave Shropshire 10-year-old Benjamin Crawford was finally able to ride his beloved bike again. Benjamin, known as Benji, spent a year battling osteosarcoma in his right leg. Before his diagnosis, Benji, from Cheswardine, near Market Drayton, was extremely active and liked to play all sports.

And it took years of pushing – but the tireless campaigning of a Shrewsbury father will result in changes to the way infants are cremated after failings were exposed at Emstrey crematorium.

Glen Perkins, leader of the Action For Ashes campaign group, started calling for investigations after his four-month-old daughter Olivia was cremated at Emstrey in 2007. He was told there were no remains and soon found out scores of others were in the same position.

He said he was delighted after it was announced there would be a Government-led consultation which could lead to an inspector of crematoria for England and Wales and a new universal code of practice.