South Hams District Council (SHDC) is once again on the lookout for ‘local heroes’ for its annual Community Awards.

For the second year running, the awards – of which there are four - will celebrate people and organisations who go above and beyond to help local people every day.

To do that, the local authority is asking South Hams’ residents to nominate people and organisations who they feel have made a worthwhile contribution to their community.

Last year, the joint winners of the Organisation Award were Dementia-friendly Parishes around the Yealm and the Kingsbridge Foodbank, while Robin Cox and Peter Davis were joint winners of the Community Champion Award. Kieran Grills won the Young Persons Award.

This year, there is a new ‘Climate and Biodiversity Champion’ award, which has been added to recognise individuals doing “great things for the natural environment” in addition to helping to tackle climate change, SHDC said in a statement, adding that climate change was one of its top priorities.

The other categories are the Young Persons Award, the Community Champion Award (both for the over 18s), and a Community Organisation Award.

SHDC’s Chairman, Cllr Bernard Taylor, said: “There is so much great work going on across the South Hams which too often goes unrecognised.

“It was wonderful last year to be able to celebrate our unsung heroes, so this year, we want even more nominations, we know there are so many more people and organisations out there doing great things for our communities.

“It is so important that we recognise those who go above and beyond and make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Nominations for the awards close at 11.59pm on Monday, February 10.

To find out more about how to nominate a group or individual, visit www.southhams.gov.uk/south-hams-community-awards