THE team behind Calne’s second successive Gold award in the South West in Bloom are setting their sights even higher for 2016.

Calne won the top Gold award from the judges at the presentation day at the Britannia Royal Navy College in Dartmouth on Thursday.

And Calne in Bloom co-ordinator, Trudy King, has already outlined her determination to win the Portman Cup next year to qualify for the national awards.

She said: “I was absolutely ecstatic and I have already got my eyes set on winning the Portman Cup.

“If we can keep our standards really high, hopefully we stand a really good chance of winning the cup, that’s the ultimate target.

“It would be extremely prestigious for the town, we have a really good group of five schools on board and everyone works so well together.

The whole thing about Calne in Bloom it’s not just about the flowers, though we do get lots of comments on them, its about the whole community working together and taking a pride in where we live.”

There was further success for the town with six level five Outstanding awards in the It’s Your Neighbourhood category which recognises volunteer-led community gardening projects/groups.

Castlefields Canal and River Park, Page Close, Beversbrook Sports Facility, Springfields Academy, Marden House and Friends of Abberd Brook were all successful in this category.

Youngsters at the Calne Skate Bowl were also recognised, being jointly awarded an award for youth achievement.

Calne town mayor, Howard Marshall, said: "It's a fantastic achievement, our second gold after last year and I think the whole Calne in Bloom team deserve a huge amount of credit.

"It's a whole years work, the ground staff, everyone who has done anything at all with the flowers and keeping the town clean and tidy and the organisation from the committee, it's just phenomenal for a small town.

"It's about community spirit, the whole community getting on board, which they have done, and continue to do, they're very supportive of the Calne in Bloom team."

Lyneham and Bradenstoke, who only entered the South West in Bloom competition for the first time last year, won a second successive silver award.