THE LEADERS of a west Dorset youth music charity met a football legend after being praised for their leadership.

Director of Lyme Regis-based B Sharp, Fran Williams and the charity's chairman Ayvin Rogers met former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson at an intimate reception at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

As part of the global launch of Sir Alex's new book, Leader, LinkedIn members were invited to write a blog about the qualities the best leaders share, and then nominate someone who had those qualities. The purpose was to celebrate Britain's unsung heroes, who set shining leadership examples in business and local communities.

Ayvin nominated Fran for her leadership of B Sharp at the first Sir Alex Ferguson Leadership Award.

Ayvin said: "It was a good opportunity to draw attention to the outstanding leadership and example Fran brings, highlight the work of B Sharp, share what I have learned and make connections within the LinkedIn community.

"It was a real honour for us to be shortlisted and invited to London to find out who the winners were.

"While we didn't win, it was great to meet Sir Alex and then listen to his interview in the Royal Festival Hall, where he received a standing ovation from a crowd of 1,500 people, before he talked about his time leading a special period of Manchester United's history."

The former Aberdeen and Scotland manager was at the helm at Old Trafford for 26 years from 1986 to 2013, leading his side to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns.

In the new book, Sir Alex reveals he only classed four of his players as world class, Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo. He also states that David Moyes was the right man to succeed him at Old Trafford, despite the former Everton boss being sacked just ten months into the job.

At the reception, Joshua Graff, senior director of LinkedIn introduced Sir Alex and congratulated the shortlisted authors and nominees. He added that both the author and nominee would receive the award for the different aspects of the competition.

Sir Alex talked about how difficult it had been to choose, taking days to decide and he had asked his wife and son to help him go through the shortlist while at their kitchen table.

"To be endorsed by Sir Alex and LinkedIn is a good story for B Sharp," added Ayvin.

"It will give additional confidence to our supports that that the charity has a fantastic team built around Fran's leadership, who all work for the idea of empowering and creating opportunities for children and young people through collaborative music making."