Top village has flower power!

Parish councils, gardeners and volunteers pulled out all the stops to impress judges in the annual contest.

One of the many villages celebrating is Freckleton - having won in three categories.

They were awarded first prize in the large village category; the war memorial category and the public playing field category.

Freckleton Parish Councillor St. John Greenhough said: “I am very pleased we have got three wins.

“The hard work goes on all year. The gardeners are working all year round.”

In the large village category Freckleton took the title of ahead of Grimsargh.

Chipping was successful in the Medium Village category and Walmer Bridge took the runners-up position.

And taking the top prize in the competition was Blacko, near Colne - which was named Champion Village. The contest saw them edge the title ahead of Wrea Green.

Competition secretary Jeanette Lowe said: “There were 73 villages which entered which is slightly up on last year.

“The standard is always very high, it is quite difficult to choose, we have a final judge who this year was Keith Ashcroft from the Environment Agency, he chose the winning villages in each one.

“It’s always a successful year - we have been going for about 50 years.”

The competition started in 1958 and was set up by the Community Council of Lancashire whose members were of the opinion that such a competition would promote a better environment for everyone throughout Lancashire.

The intention of the competition is to encourage community effort and involvement in keeping Lancashire villages and their facilities tidy and well maintained.

The Awards will be presented at The Villa, Wrea Green, on Monday, October 20.