PORTISHEAD is flying a flag in recognition of its gold medal status in the South West in Bloom contest.

The Royal Horticultural Society presented the flag to the town to mark its success in the annual competition this year.

The yellow and green flag was raised on the flagpole in the centre of High Street after a short ceremony and celebration at the Folk Hall, hosted by the town council.

The event was attended by many of the volunteers who had worked hard to help the town achieve the high standard in the contest.

Among the volunteers were pupils from Gordano School who helped to renovate Brampton Park.

Town council chairman Arthur Terry said: “The South West in Bloom results are a wonderful achievement, we know how important this is to the town and congratulate those who worked so hard to ensure we maintained our gold status.”

In addition to the gold medal, Portishead retained the St Bridget Cup for being the best in its class, received 12 neighbourhood awards and a special award for local heritage in recognition of the planting of silver birch trees in memory of Squadron Leader Tommy Broom.