PEOPLE across Craven are being urged to nominate their community unsung heroes.

North Yorkshire County Council has launched its annual community service awards and is calling on people in the county to nominate those volunteers who do so much to improve the quality of life where they live.

Last year's winners included Catherine Sawyer for her work with Settle Stories, along with a woman who set up a project to lift spirits after the floods in Tadcaster.

The awards, now in their fourth year, has four different categories - best community group, best community project, volunteer of the year, and an award for young volunteers.

Councillor Helen Swiers, chairman of the county council, said: “These awards emphasise the wealth of skills and the capacity for caring that we have in North Yorkshire. Over the years, they have highlighted much excellent work, so I look forward to seeing what this year’s nominations bring. These awards honour a handful of the county’s thousands of volunteers and, we hope, show our appreciation for all of them.”

A panel of judges, including representatives from the council, volunteer organisations,

and young people, will identify three finalists from each category. All finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony at the North Yorkshire Wider Partnership Conference in October.

The winner of each category will receive £1,000 for the project, group or nominated relevant local charity in the case of the volunteer awards. Two runners-up in each category will receive £250.

The closing date for nominations is 4 June 4. Forms can be completed online at: northyorks.gov.uk/communityawards. Changes have been made to the forms this year to make completing them more straightforward. An option to make a video submission has been introduced for the young people volunteering award. Anyone who is unable to complete the nomination online can call 01609 780780.