The winners of this year's Community Awards were recently announced at the Mayor of Carlisle's Civic Dinner.

The 22nd annual award ceremony saw eleven pillars of the community be presented with an award by Mayor Pam Birks for their efforts during a difficult year.

A spokesperson for Carlisle City Council said: "Local community champions were recognised for their achievements at a Carlisle City Council Community Awards presentation, held at The Halston Hotel on Thursday 10 March 2022.

"The awards have been the highlight of the Civic Dinner since 2002 and this year's winners all support their local communities and we were delighted to showcase their achievements."

The first award went to Toby Harling, who campaigned to make Carlisle a more cycling friendly-zone, an endeavour which has taken numerous years.

Carlisle Community Help Carlisle were next to be awarded, which saw volunteers Eileen Miller, Maureen Wilson, Judith Holiday, Anne Lee and Deborah Earl receive recognition for their efforts in providing shopping, prescription collections, delivering hundreds of food parcels every week in the first lockdown and providing 23,500 days' worth of packed lunches to children in the summer of 2020.

Founding member and Cllr Lisa Brown said: "I nominated Eileen, Judith, Maureen, Anne and Deborah because they are the unsung heroes of the pandemic in Carlisle. I'm often the face of the organisation in news articles and on TV, but really it was those women, sacrificing their own time and putting themselves in the path of the virus to help others without question or complaint that deserve all the praise, not me. They continue to go above and beyond even now and I truly believe Carlisle is a better place for having them in it."

David Hughes who has served for over a decade on Wetheral Parish Council was awarded for his work volunteering for the National Trust, Cumbria Wildlife and for raising £50,000 for Eden Valley Hospice through an annual charity golf event.

Alan Dinning received the award for his long-term prolific 'second-nature' work within the Dalston community, with Kenneth and Elizabeth Allison being awarded for their years of great pride and service within the Lowry Hill.

Mobile neighbourhood watch Dennis Maddison and long-time dinner lady Sandra Carr also were awarded for their sterling longstanding efforts on the night.