Villagers brought home acclaim and a silver gilt award from Addingham’s Britain in Bloom debut.

Although the village did not take top honours in the small town section of the contest, organisers were pleased with their achievement and inspired by the comments of the judges.

It was the first time Addingham had qualified for the national competition after performing well at last year’s Yorkshire in Bloom event. Six members of Addingham Garden Friends travelled to St Peter Port, in Guernsey, to hear the result.

The village was beaten to the top prize by Wimborne, in Dorset.

Garden Friends chairman Carol Miles said: “We got a silver gilt, which we were very pleased with, and the judges said Addingham was one of the best first-time entrants they had ever seen, so we were really pleased with that.”

Judges also praised the “responsive community”.

As well as taking part in a clean-up, residents and business put out their own hanging baskets and tended their front gardens.