A long-standing friendship has resulted in a Richmond resident being awarded the accolade of the town's Amazing Neighbour for November.

Judith Witty has gone out of her way to help her neighbour and this support has been recognised with a prize of £100 of shopping vouchers.

The Amazing Neighbours initiative is run by the Richmond Yorkshire Community Interest Company, a not-for-profit organisation with the aim of making the town an even better place to live and visit. The scheme’s judges were extremely impressed to learn of Judith’s selflessness in a nomination submitted by her neighbour, Angela Hoole.

Judith and Angela have been neighbours for many years and their close relationship has been demonstrated by many acts of kindness towards each other. Angela is especially appreciative of the support Judith has shown to her family.

Angela explains: “We have two children with a disability. Every week for years Judith has helped us look after the children and manage the house. This has included helping with baby-sitting, with jobs around the house and supporting us in providing the care our children need.

(Image: JOHN EMBLETON)

“This has enabled us to continue to work to maintain our household. We have no family nearby and so Judith and her husband Ian have become our family. They have helped with every aspect of our lives, and we are so grateful to them. They are truly, Amazing Neighbours.”

After reading Angela’s nomination, the judges of the Amazing Neighbours scheme were delighted to recognise everything that Judith has done to support Angela and her family.

Each month a panel of five judges independently score a shortlist of entrants, and they do so without knowing the names of the nominators or those who have been nominated. The scores of the five judges are then aggregated to arrive at a winner. Each Amazing Neighbour winner receives £100 in shopping vouchers, with the nominator receiving two free tickets for The Station Cinema. Everyone who is nominated will stay in the running throughout the duration of the campaign which means that even if they aren’t chosen one month, they could still be selected as a winner another month.

(Image: Contributor)

The Amazing Neighbours judges are: Baroness Harris of Richmond; Chris Brown, CEO at The Station; Richmond School’s Headteacher Jenna Potter; Hannah Chapman, Editor at the Darlington & Stockton Times and David Walker, CIC Director and Chairman of the Richmondshire Refugee Support Group.

Amazing Neighbours has been made possible with the support of local businesses and organisations including Cooper & Leatherbarrow Opticians, in Finkle Street, Richmond; Zetland Estates; Oliviers Furniture on the Gallowfields Trading Estate; North Yorkshire Council; Richmond Information Centre; the Darlington & Stockton Times; Purple Creative Studio and Richmondshire Today.

The next Amazing Neighbour will be announced in December.