GREEN-FINGERED representatives from Cumbria came away with a handful of awards from this year's Britain in Bloom competition.

The Royal Horticultural Society held the ceremony in Llandudno last Friday (October 27), which representatives from Penrith, Dalston, Kendal and Silloth were invited to attend.

Kendal took home the silver gilt award for large town while elsewhere in the county, Dalston won a gold in the large village category, Silloth-on-Solway was awarded a silver gilt for the coastal town with up to 12,000 residents category, Penrith took gold for the Business Improvement District section and Joan Robinson from Penrith and Liz Auld from Dalston were both named community champions.

RHS judges visited the 78 finalists over the summer to assess each group against three key criteria: community participation, environmental responsibility and horticultural achievement.

Depending on the standard reached, a Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver or Bronze medal is awarded, with a winner in each category and discretionary awards for achieving excellence in particular fields.

Roger Burnett, Chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom judges, said: “This year, the standard was as high as ever but what really stood out was the creativity and ingenuity that groups showed in tackling the specific challenges of their particular areas, whether that be lack of funding, local social issues or tricky site conditions."