Cleobury Mortimer is Britain's tidiest town

A Shropshire town has swept away competition from across the UK to be named the tidiest in Britain.

Cleobury Mortimer landed the accolade of best town at the Clean Britain Awards after judges said it was a "pleasure" to walk around.

The town is the first in Shropshire to win the award and only the third in the country to win it since the biennial awards started in 2007.

Cleobury was hailed for its "excellent community spirit and civic pride", and for the way streets all around the town were well maintained.

The town's street cleaner was also hailed for acknowledging residents and tourists as he tidied the town during an anonymous inspection by judges in October last year.

Sean Thorogood and Betty Davies, of Cleobury Mortimer Parish Council, picked up the award in front of 300 people at a ceremony at Birmingham's NEC on Wednesday hosted by TV presenter Dick Strawbridge.

Other competitors in the category included Maidenhead, Orpington, Southend, Windsor and Eton, Dumfries and fellow county town Church Stretton.

Councillor Thorogood said: "It was really brilliant to get the award. With all those hundreds of people there, we just didn't expect to walk away with the top prize."

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