A woman who has worked ‘tirelessly’ for Ottery for more than a decade has been named the town’s Citizen of the Year.

Phyllis Baxter was unable to collect the award at the town council’s annual meeting this week as she was enjoying a well-earned holiday.

The winner of the accolade is kept under wraps until the event.

The Slade Road resident, who originally hails from Balbriggan in Ireland, has been the town’s tourist information centre manager for more than 10 years.

Until last year, she had been ineligible for consideration as she was a town council employee.

At the meeting on Wednesday, councillors and residents praised her as a ‘ambassador for the town’.

John Campion, of Seasons Tea Rooms, recalled how Phyllis asked the mayor to greet him and his wife Myra when they moved to the town four years ago.

He added: “In all the moves we have had over the years, we have never had that.

“If you need information, she is the one to go to or will tell you who to go to. It’s fantastic to have someone like that, it’s really nice that she has been named Citizen of the Year. I do not think it covers just one year - it covers a multitude of years.”

Mayor Glyn Dobson added: “She is a great ambassador for the town. She had the most votes and it is well deserved.”

At the meeting, Cllr Anne Edwards praised Phyllis’s ‘tireless work’ to promote the town’s fetes, fairs and functions.

Cllr Josefina Gori, who has worked closely with Phyllis over the years, described the TIC manager as ‘the heart of the town’.

She added: “Phyllis knows everything about the town and everyone in it.

“The one thing she is famous for is her photography. The way she loves the town is reflected in her photos.”