Shropshire glory in Heart of England in Bloom Awards

Towns, villages and pubs across the county scooped awards in a range of categories.

Notable successes included Shrewsbury BID enjoying a double success, winning a gold and category award, despite it being their first year entering the competition, while Oswestry struck gold in the large town category.

Ludlow, Bridgnorth and Ledbury also were gold winners in the town section of the awards.

• Shrewsbury BID won a gold and category award

• Oswestry in Bloom won gold in the large town category

• Ludlow in Bloom, Bridgnorth Town Council and Ledbury in Bloom won a gold award in the town category

• Claverley in Bloom won a gold award in the village category

• Leominster in Bloom were awarded a silver-gilt in the town category Over the border, Hereford in Bloom were awarded won gold in the small city category

Hotel and Pub Gardens Campaign results:

• The Old Castle Inn in Bridgnorth won in the gold category

• The Charlton Arms in Ludlow were awarded a silver-gilt award

• Over the border, The Barrels Pub in Hereford won in the gold category

Discretionary awards:

• Leominster in Bloom who who the Heart of England in Bloom RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood Theme Award

• The Cambrian Railway Orchard Project (CROP) in Oswestry won the Heart of England in Bloom Chairman’s Award

• Over the border, The Holme Lacy House Hotel in Herefordshire won the Heart of England in Bloom Grounds Maintenance Award and Trevor Swindells from Hereford in Bloom won the The Heart of England Outstanding Merit Award

The long awaited gold, silver-gilt, silver and bronze awards achieved in the Heart of England in Bloom Campaign were announced by the Heart of England in Bloom Committee at a presentation event in Rugby.

Heart of England in Bloom is the regional element of the Britain in Bloom Campaign organised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) which encourages communities to work together to improve and enhance their local environment. This year's theme was 'Greening the Grey Britain'.

Shropshire pubs celebrating wins included the Old Castle Inn in Bridgnorth and the Charlton Arms in Ludlow, while over the border Hereford won in the small city category and the town's Barrels Pub was also recognised.

Discretionary awards were also presented to individuals, entries, businesses or groups that the judges felt were worthy of a special mention for outstanding achievement within a particular entry.

Roger Bache, chairman of Heart of England in Bloom, said: "Entrants give a lot of time and effort to make where they live and work a nicer, safer place to be and are very proud when they receive their prestigious awards.

"This year the RHS set the theme of Greening the Grey Britain and in our region they certainly did!"

Choosing the winners, the judges are not only looking for horticultural achievement when they visit but take into consideration a responsibility for the environment and a display of community participation.