A WIRRAL estate has been named Best Village in this year's Northwest In Bloom awards.

Beechwood in Bidston picked up a silver medal award in the category during a ceremony in Southport.

It was in recognition of a spruce up of the area co-ordinated by Jigsaw Neighbourhood Solutions – part of Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT) – and Beechwood, Ballantyne and Bidston Village Big Local.

Local volunteers spent their spare time tidying up shrub beds, planting trees and laying new turf.

Judges from the Royal Horticultural Society were impressed with the improvements when they visited the estate earlier this year.

Ian Hulme, tree and landscape coordinator at LHT, said: "Since we began working with Beechwood in September 2015, we have been committed to improving the appearance of the estate.

"We are absolutely delighted that our efforts have been recognised through this prestigious award."

Linda Finn, co-chair at Beechwood, Ballantyne & Bidston Village Big Local, added: "It's great to see North West in Bloom join the long list of successful local initiatives that have benefited from Big Local funding in partnership with Jigsaw.

"The environmental improvements to the area are a great example of what can be achieved when residents work in partnership with local organisations."

Representatives from Jigsaw and Big Local collected their award during a regional ceremony held at Southport Convention Centre.

This latest accolade is an improvement on last year’s result, which saw the Beechwood estate collect a Level 2 Award for Improvement in the Large Neighbourhood category.