Residents from across Westhoughton have been awarded for their ‘outstanding’ community efforts.

Westhoughton town mayor Deirdre McGeown handed out the civic awards on behalf of Westhoughton Town Council on Monday, April 29 and has congratulated residents for supporting their area.

The awards are an annual celebration of the work put it by members of the community who want to make a difference to the place they live.

Speaking about this year’s award winners, Deirdre said: “Stephen, Alison, Jayne, Annaliese and Lynne have all made an amazing contribution to Westhoughton life, so this is our little way of recognising that and saying thank you.”

As part of the awards, Stephen Freeborn collected the Group Environmental Award on behalf of the work done by the Friends of Westhoughton Station.

The group meets weekly where they litter pick, they plant flowers and maintain the station flora and greenery.

They encourage wildlife into the station banking’s and liaise with the railway managers and identify any safety aspects to help keep people safe.

The group won the award for their efforts in also reporting back to the community on a weekly basis via My Westhoughton and are always encouraging others to get involved.

Dierdre said the group ‘is a credit to the town because of their substantial efforts’.

Alison Unsworth was awarded the Environmental Award.

On hearing proposals to bring the battery storage facilities to Westhoughton, Alison diligently set about researching their purpose and the value for the community.

Over a period of two years she delved into the detail, uncovering a whole range of concerns for the local environment and residents and the wider Westhoughton community and the borough of Bolton.

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According to the mayor, Alison showed that not all modern technology helps the environment.

Having engaged with local residents and ward councillors, Alison brought together and shared facts that helped drive a local action group.

She took to the stand in the Bolton Council planning meeting to represent the Westhoughton environment and residents.

Her research and time spent to summarise key facts was shown to be significant, with planning permission being refused.

Dierdre said: “Thank you Alison for helping to educate others about the potentially catastrophic impact of this unregulated modern technology on the environment.

“Westhoughton will be thankful for your time and effort to protect our greenspace, wildlife and residents.”

Jayne Caldwell and Annaliese Sims were jointly awarded the Citizen Award.

Jayne and Annaliese run the 23rd Rainbows and 12th Bolton Brownies at St Bartholomew’s School.

They are leaders that run both groups and have done so for over 15 years.

According to Dierdre, the two women organise trips and create memories that will stay with the girls forever. They have a good team around them which they have created which is why they were chosen for the award.

The final award was handed to Lynne Price, she was given The Civic Award.

Many Westhoughton people will remember Lynne as a brilliant nurse.

The nomination for her read: “All her patients loved her because she was so dedicated to her job. She has helped with many charities including The Inner Wheel and the Mason’s.

“Over the years Lynne has made over 25 Christmas hampers to be donated to worthy causes, I suspect a lot more were made with her own money.

“Lynne is the first person to offer her help, even sometimes when her own health is not good. I think she is 100% worthy of receiving this prestigious award.”

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on X @chloewjourno.