RICHMOND Rotary Club has named Bellerby as this year’s winner of the Best Kept Village award, followed by Moulton in second place and Caldwell third.

Although just nine villages took part this year, organisers said the overall standard was extremely high.

Rotary club member David Stewart, who organised the event, praised the efforts of participants and explained the way the wide-ranging contest works.

"We send judges to all the villages during the same two weeks in July and they score each village on 17 criteria ranging from public spaces and private gardens to the condition of bus shelters, shops, guest houses, inns and the encouragement of wildlife," he said. "Villages without some features are not penalised. After the first scoring, a second visit by different judges is organised to the front runners to be sure that the scores are fair."

Receiving the winning prize of £400, chairman of Bellerby Parish Council John Hutchinson said: "Winning the competition this year was a lovely surprise. When we last won about five years ago, we used the prize to refurbish the telephone box. This time I hope that we might be able to support our community garden."

Richmond Rotary Club president Jos Huddleston, who presented the cheque to Bellerby this week, said: "Rotary is an international organisation that has tackled global issues such as the elimination of polio, but it is probably at its best when supporting local communities.

"It was clear that a lot of hard work had taken place in preparation for this year’s Best Kept Village contest. Each year the event reminds us of the beautiful area where we live and our exceptional villages well deserve the recognition that Rotary gives them through this challenging competition."