GREEN-fingered volunteers, community groups and tenants are celebrating after winning north west awards for making their communities colourful, attractive and clean.

Friends of Hindley Train Station scooped two gongs at the Royal Horticultural Society’s North West in Bloom awards in Southport.

The community group won Best Railway Station and Level Five Outstanding awards.

Hindley Community Allotment and Garden Society was given an achievement award for winning an outstanding gong for five consecutive years.

Other outstanding award winners were Selby Court in Leigh, the Blue Bell gardens in Atherton and two communal gardens in Brookdale Road in Hindley.

St Philip’s CE Primary School in Atherton won the Trevor Leese Environment Award for Outstanding School.

Level Four Thriving awards were given to Friends of Atherton Parks, Ambergate housing in Atherton, Friends of Amberswood in Hindley and Ingleside housing in Tyldesley while a Level Three Advancing accolade was presented to Cutacre Nature Reserve in Tyldelsey.

Cllr Chris Ready, Wigan Council’s executive member for communities, said: “We are extremely fortunate to have so many excellent volunteers throughout the borough who dedicate an enormous amount of time to make the borough bloom.

“These groups are crucial to having neighbourhoods of which we can be proud and help make our borough such an attractive place to live.”

Atherton Cllr Karen Aldred, who volunteers for the Atherton Environmental Projects (AEP) group that looks after the Blue Bell gardens, said: “We are so proud of what has been achieved.

“It is all down to the hard work and dedication of all the team.”

Natasha Hodgkinson, chair of Friends of Atherton Parks, said: “I am overwhelmed and shocked at how well we have done.

“It is all down to the dedication and commitment of all the volunteers.”

Anyone interested in joining an in Bloom group can call 01942 486578 or visit wigan.gov.uk/volunteering.