PAT McMahon won two prizes in the Bolton Floral Art show on the day the Albert Hall was destroyed by fire.
She was at home in Smithills when she received a message from a friend telling her not to collect her trophies.
"I remember being told not to go to the town hall because the building was on fire."
Mrs McMahon, now aged 62, went into her back garden and she could see the blaze from there.
She was a student in flower arranging at Clarence Street college and won the Mrs P W Smith silver salver for the most points in the show, which she shared with another woman. She also won the Sarah Halliwell trophy for the novice section.
Mrs McMahon said: "I did eventually get my prizes, but there were some valuable things used by people in their displays that were destroyed."
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