HARD-WORKING members of the Malmesbury community have been rewarded for their dedication to the town and townsfolk at the annual Civic Awards.

Speaking at his last civic event as Mayor, Cllr Wayne Jones, said: “It is my pleasure to host this special evening where we recognise the work of the unsung heroes of our community.

“It is quite right that we turn the spotlight on these unassuming people and groups.

“They do so much to make a really positive contribution to the lives of so many of our people and make their lives better as a result.”

Winning Citizen of the Year was Iona Pinchis, who, for the last ten years has held a Tuesday coffee morning for residents at Glovers Court regularly attended by more than 20 people, and also runs bingo and movie days.

She was nominated for her endless work and contribution towards supporting the lonely and elderly in Malmesbury, making them feel a part of community life.

Also nominated for the award was Deborah Clogg, Gynnette Ranger-Walsh and Judith Fooks.

Taking home the Organisation or Group of the Year Award was the Malmesbury and District U3A.

The U3A provide a large, diverse programme of talks and stimulating activities and the opportunity for the 460 members to build new friendships.

Former chair of four years, Sara Gray, said: “It was wonderful actually. We have only been going for four years and membership continues to increase, people just seem to enjoy what they find in the U3A.

“It was really lovely to have that celebrated and everyone’s hard work because there is a lot of interest groups all lead by different volunteers.”

Also nominated were Malmesbury Community Carnival Radio and Malmesbury River Valleys Trust.

Cllr Gavin Grant, said: “The special meeting of town councillors to decide who wins is one of the best and worst of our meetings.

“It’s the best because you hear about the amazing voluntary work of so many tremendous people and the worst because we then have to choose the winners, an almost impossible task.”

However, disappointment loomed as there had sadly been no nominations for the Malmesbury Young Citizen of the Year Award.

“This is the first time that we have no nominations for this award”, Cllr Jones, said. “I cannot believe there are no extraordinary young people in our town or at our secondary school who are working to help others.

“We will look at why this has happened and what we need to do to make sure it never happens again.”