A SOUTH Lakeland company's efforts to ensure the health and safety of staff and visitors has been recognised by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) at their annual awards ceremony.

The charity awarded James Cropper Paper, at Burneside, a gold award for occupational health and safety at a gala ceremony held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London.

The award is judged against demanding criteria and comes in recognition of consistent high standards in monitoring health and safety on site and maintaining a process of continual improvement.

Dave Watson, Chief Operations Officer, said: “There are few other awards which sum up a company’s commitment to keeping people safe than those presented by RoSPA, so we are honoured by the decision to present us with this.

"At the same time, we expect to achieve the highest standards and judge ourselves by these award criteria during the course of each day. This is due recognition of the meticulous plans and procedures implemented and respected by our colleagues.”

The gold award is the highest single level of award that RoSPA presents to companies and entrants must provide rigorous evidence of a good health and safety management systems.

James Cropper Paper, which is renowned globally for its luxury packaging papers, will be able to use the award logo on its stationery and website.