BRANSCOMBE village was presented with an award for the Best Kept Village Competition last week. The EDDC certificate was given to Branscombe as runner up within East Devon in the Small Villages category after Hawkchurch. EDDC s chairman, councillor Paul D

BRANSCOMBE village was presented with an award for the Best Kept Village Competition last week.

The EDDC certificate was given to Branscombe as runner up within East Devon in the Small Villages category after Hawkchurch.

EDDC's chairman, councillor Paul Diviani, presented the award to John Bass, chairman of Branscombe Parish Council, at a full council meeting at the Knowle on Wednesday, December 10.

John said: "On behalf of the people of Branscombe I accepted the award gratefully. "The village has pulled together and done its best to keep itself tidy and ship shape. "Following on from the Napoli people have made the effort and everyone has done their bit."

The Campaign to Protect Rural England Devon Best Kept Village Competition is now in its 38th year.

The event, which is organised by CPRE and sponsored by Mole Valley Farmers (MVF), is very popular and 61 entries were received this year.

The object of the competition is to encourage villages to harness their sense of community into keeping each village clean, well cared for and environmentally friendly.

As well as funding the running of Best Kept Village Competition, Mole Valley Farmers provided a prize of £100 of MVF tokens for each winner in the 4 categories of entry.

The villages were judged in 3 rounds in May and June with the final round in July/August.