STOURBRIDGE has scooped yet another gold gong in the Heart of England in Bloom awards today (Thursday).

The town, which has been taking part in the campaign for around a decade, now has eight consecutive gold awards under its belt.

Stourbridge’s latest glittering win – in the small city category of the regional division of the Britain in Bloom campaign - was announced at a ceremony at Benn Hall, Rugby.

Chairman of Heart of England in Bloom, Roger Bache, said: “Entrants give a lot of time and effort to make where they live and work a nicer, safer place to be and are very proud when they receive their prestigious awards. “This year the RHS set the theme of Greening the Grey Britain and in our region they certainly did.”

The Heart of England in Bloom judges tour towns, villages, cities and urban communities across Gloucestershire, North Staffordshire, Birmingham, the Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire throughout the summer to determine who wins.

They stopped in Stourbridge in July when head judge Nicola Clarke told the News it had been “wonderful to see such fantastic partnership working” going on in the town.

Stourbridge in Bloom co-ordinator David Harcourt once again spoke of his delight at gaining yet another gold award and said: “It’s been interesting watching the progression and the additional community groups and volunteers that have been coming on board. This award is a real testament what all these people do and what the community can produce. We’ll just keep carrying on.”

Meanwhile Amblecote’s first ever entry in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Bloom campaign netted a silver award in the urban community category.

Volunteers who supported the effort were delighted to make a mark on the campaign which encourages communities to work together to improve and enhance their environment.

Councillor Christine Perks, the driving force behind Amblecote’s entry, described scooping the award as “wonderful” and said: “We were blown away. We just thought we’d get a good evaluation and a certificate saying ‘well done’.

“Since judging day I’ve had a lot of people say it really brightened up the village and it’s really brought the community, residents and traders together.”