Mayor honours citizens at heart of the community

A pensioner who works tirelessly to raise money for terminally ill people, and a couple who put the heart into a community centre in the north of Northampton. These are just some of the winners in Northampton Borough Council's Heart of the Community Awards 2012 - all nominated by members of the public.

The Mayor of Northampton Borough Council, Councillor Jamie Lane presented the worthy winners with their awards at a special civic reception on Thursday 22 March. The awards celebrate those people who go out of their way to make their communities safer, better and happier places to live.

The Mayor said: "The Heart of the Community Awards is a special event in my calendar. To see how so many people devote their time to their community and make a difference to so many lives is truly inspirational.

"Choosing the winners has been extremely difficult and I must congratulate everyone who was nominated and thank those people who took the trouble to put their names forward. And to the winners, a huge congratulations. It was an honour to meet them and to be able to present them with their awards."