First foot forward for Heaney

The Irish poet Seamus Heaney won the Forward Poetry Prize last night, having been a runner-up on two previous occasions.

The Nobel laureate, 71, was awarded the £10,000 "best collection" prize for his anthology Human Chain, which in part tackles issues of old age.

The collection, Heaney's 12th, was his first new set of poems for four years. "It is one of the most enhancing rewards which the art and the individual artist can be granted," said the writer.

"I am truly grateful to all concerned."