WARRINGTON Borough Council is celebrating after 12 sites across the borough retained Green Flag status.

The authority's sites have received recognition once again after judges assessed a range of factors including environmental management, cleanliness and safety.

They are St Elphin's Park, St Peter's Park, Lymm Dam, Risley Moss, Bewsey Park, Alexandra Park, Walton Hall and Gardens, Walton Lea Crematorium, Fox Covert Cemetery, Warrington Cemetery, Burtonwood Cemetery and Hollinfare Cemetery.

Cllr Tony Higgins, executive board member for leisure and community, said: "The investment by the council into our parks is again reaping rewards, with the parks that applied for Green Flag status being successful.

"The community groups that work so hard to keep them looking so beautiful and cared for fully deserve this nationally recognised award.

"In the past few years, I've seen a huge surge in residents forming their own friends of parks groups and, in doing so, strengthening their community.

"Rewards such as the Green Flag are the ultimate recognition for their hard work and this can only raise the profile of our town to higher levels, something we should all applaud."

The council's achievement in receiving the Green Flag award for all five of its cemeteries and crematorium sites it applied for in 2018 is a repeat of 2017.

To mark the latest success, Cllr Judith Guthrie, executive board member for environment and public protection, visited employees and friends of the authority's bereavement services to congratulate them on their 'outstanding achievement'.

She said: "These awards are testament to the hard work and dedication of our bereavement services team, along with the tenacious efforts of our wonderful friends groups, and I congratulate them all for this fantastic achievement.

"For our cemeteries and crematoria sites to hold almost half of the borough's Green Flag awards deserves to be recognised – and everyone involved should feel immensely proud of their achievements."