Chelmsford City Council is now accepting award nominations for people who go the extra mile to look after their local environment.

The “Chelmsford Champions” awards have been developed to recognise and thank the extraordinary individuals that make Chelmsford a wonderful place to live.

The awards highlight residents who make the area attractive, welcoming and clean and act as a thank you for the hours and manpower they put in.

Councillor Malcolm Sismey, cabinet member responsible for Love Your Chelmsford, said: “We know that there are wonderful people in every community.

“They regularly go out of their way to make their local area as attractive, welcoming and pleasant as possible.

“These awards are a way of thanking those residents.

“I look forward to reading the entries and I encourage as many nominations as possible.”

The awards are open to anyone who lives in Chelmsford and the surrounding borough.

The scheme invites nominations for those who have demonstrated commitment to making a positive difference to their neighbourhood. This could be anything from litter picking and planting flowers to doing something creative.

Or even leading and encouraging others to get stuck into improving the area they live in.

Prizes will be presented to the selected champions at a special ceremony in August.

The awards are part of Love Your Chelmsford, a programme.

The programme celebrates the environment in Chelmsford and provides opportunities for residents to get involved.

The Love Your Chelmsford campaign provides a host of opportunities, including river clean-ups, volunteering, fun events and competitions for residents to get stuck into.

Nominations are now open, and the closing date for nominations is Saturday June 30.

To nominate a Community Champion, please email the Love Your Chelmsford team at lyc@chelmsford.gov.uk, call 01245 615800 or message @LoveYourChelmsford on Facebook.

For more information on Chelmsford’s Champions and Love Your Chelmsford, visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/lyc