DUDLEY Council's leader has described winning a national award for the Black Country Festival as "one of the proudest moments" in his career.

The council was voted winner of the Community Engagement Campaign of the Year category in the 2015 PRmoment Awards for its work in organising the bostin' Black Country celebration which saw a host of events staged around the borough and beyond last July to commemorate the region's proud industrial heritage.

The team behind the fun-packed festival were congratulated on their campaign at an awards ceremony at The Brewery in London.

Councillor Pete Lowe, leader of Dudley Council, said afterwards: “This is one of the proudest moments in my career to be involved in helping the Black Country be recognised at such a prestigious national event in London.

“Dudley was the only council recognised at this national event and we were up against private sector, corporate giants such as Barclays and Aldi so it really is an unbelievable achievement.

“Our thanks go out to all of the local people in the community who helped make the festival such a massive success and something we will never forget.

“At Dudley Council we have been working over the last couple of years to become a real community council working for local people so to win the community engagement campaign of the year is a tremendous endorsement of this work.”

TV and radio presenter Andy Crane, best known for presenting Children's BBC in the late 1980s, heaped praise on the campaign as he handed over the award on Wednesday March 4.

He described the festival as "a classic example of community engagement, using clever tactics" and he added: "The campaign did everything it could have and had excellent longevity.”

The awards celebrate and reward outstanding campaigns and exceptional talent in the UK PR and communications sector.