A virtual evening of celebration took place on Thursday in Malmesbury.

Malmesbury Town Council celebrated members of the community for it's annual Citizen of the Year awards via Zoom, due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The council, handed awards to those who, in the judgement of councillor’s, have made the most significant and sustained contribution to the local community in the past year.

Nominees, proposers, the mayor, councillors, sponsors and residents of Malmesbury were invited to attend the event from the comfort of their own home, with well over 100 people in the audience.

There were five awards up for grabs on the night, including two new awards for Junior Citizen of the Year Award, sponsored by former mayor, Julie Exton and The Volunteer 10 Years Contribution Certificate.

Certificates were awarded to individuals who are making a contribution to the community of Malmesbury and who have completed 10 years or more of voluntary service.

Each nominee will received a certificate signed by the mayor.

The award winners were:

Citizen of the Year - Daphne Merritt

Junior Citizen of the Year - Ben Thornbury

Young Citizen of the Year - George Davies

Organisation of the Year - Malmesbury Community Choir

The Volunteer 10 Year Certificate Award:

Athelstan Museum

Alison Lewis/Angela Sykes/Anna Grange/Catherine Doody/Caroline Allington/Chris Juson/Christina Staff/Colin Munden/Deborah Clogg/Helen Lee/Jackie Tong/Jane Hull/ Janet Casseldon/Mary Hill/Mike Gann/Mike Johnson/Mike Elam/Peter Holland/Robert MacLachlan/Roger Griffin/Sara Crabb/Sue Poole

Malmesbury Abbey

Dick Gray/Mike Langtree

Malmesbury Scouts

Jeremy Luckett/Matthew Bareham//Nigel Jackson/Richard Searle-Barnes

Girl Guiding Malmesbury

Gill Shaw/Vicky Geake

Malmesbury Film Society

Sue Vincent

Malmesbury Youth Football Club

Dave Buckley

Malmesbury Luncheon Club & Malmesbury Gardening Club

Elanor Church

Athelstan House, Malmesbury Primary Care & Riverside Community Centre

Margaret Perrin

Malmesbury and Villages Community Partnership & Riverside Community Centre

Peter Gilchriest

Malmesbury Luncheon Club, MD&CT & Malmesbury Gardening Club

Sean O’Shea

Mayor of Malmesbury Campbell Ritchie said: "It was important we continued to hold this important annual event.

"The technology worked well for us and it was great to see so many people being able to take part.

"I would really like to congratulate all of our nominees, those awarded 10 year voluntary service certificates and each of our fantastic winners. They are an inspiration to us all."