A caring couple who open their home to children in crisis have been handed a community award.

Roy and Marian Muir, of Whitehaven, help out homeless young people by giving them a bed for the night.

Their generosity has been recognised by Cumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall, who handed them an Outstanding Volunteer award at his inaugural Community Awards yesterday.

Mr Muir, 70, of Mirehouse, said: "Everybody deserves a second chance to carry on living the life they want to live and hopefully a better future.

"A lot of people put young people down but we thought why put them down when you can give them a second chance?

The pair work with Nightstop, a service which provides free, temporary accommodation for homeless youngsters in Cumbria.

Since it was set up in March 2015, it has provided 208 'bed nights' across the county, 64 of these have been with Mr and Mrs Muir.

They provide a warm welcome and send each visitor away with a packed lunch in the morning.

The couple also spend time volunteering in the area, including at Egremont homeless hostel Calderwood House.

Speaking after receiving the award, Mrs Muir, 68, said: "I'm just mesmerised, I didn't realise we'd had so many people stay."

The ceremony also saw three more west Cumbrian projects rewarded for supporting their communities.

Mandy Taylor, Jacq Cardy and Lauren Oaten picked up Outstanding Community Project for Shackles Off, which offers a variety of activities to children in Seascale.

The project, which has ran for nearly 10 years, works with the parish council to prevent anti-social behaviour.

Mrs Taylor said: "Our work relies on volunteers and without their support we couldn't do what we do. This award is for you."

The award for Outstanding Team went to West Cumbria Publication Protection Unit for its "professionalism, integrity and willingness to always go above and beyond".

Members of the team work closely with Mosovo, the police unit which manages sexual and violent offenders.

And Cumbria Neighbourhood Watch Association received a Special Award for Enduring Achievement for its work keeping communities across west Cumbria safe.

Mr McCall said: "This is a very special day to say a very big thank you to those who care. It is a small reward but a massive thank you.

"We can't rely on the police to do everything, if we can divert people from getting into trouble, not only does it save money, it saves lives getting ruined and bit by bit we make our community safer for everybody."

All winners were presented with certificates and a small plaque, and Mr McCall said it had been an "incredibly difficult job" working through the nominations.

Two more award ceremonies will be held this week, one at Barrow Police Station tomorrow and another at Durranhill Police Station on Thursday.