As the Green Flag Award marks 25 years of excellence, Ladderedge Country Park and the volunteers who help maintain it have once again been honoured - one of a record number of 2,127 parks and green spaces to be recognised.

The scheme is managed by Keep Britain Tidy to reward well-managed parks and green spaces which set the benchmark standard across the UK and around the world.

A dedicated Friends group of volunteers work alongside Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's parks team to care for and develop the park which has received its seventh Green Flag Award.

Councillor Mark Deaville, Deputy Leader of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Cabinet member for Leisure and Sports, said: "We're delighted that Ladderedge Country Park has retained its Green Flag Award for the seventh successive year. It's a fitting tribute to our staff, the Friends and the volunteers who devote their time to keeping the park in peak condition for everyone to enjoy.

"Parks and green spaces play such an important part in our wellbeing and, over the last two years in particular, so many of us have come to value them more than ever as places to relax or be more active in beautiful outdoor locations.

"To have an award-winning park on our patch is fantastic I'd like to offer my congratulations to everyone involved in keeping it such as special place."

The volunteers get together regularly to carry out maintenance and repair work and were joined at the weekend by the Council's Cabinet member for Climate Change and Biodiversity Joe Porter.

Together the team carried out work to build a boardwalk, stone a flight of steps, repair eroded gateways and clear a pond of invasive weeds.

Councillor Porter said: "Good management of places like Ladderedge promotes biodiversity which is something we are keen to encourage as part of our wider plans to work in partnership with our communities to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

"I was delighted to join the volunteers and work alongside them. They do a fantastic job - not only can we all enjoy the fruits of their labours now they are also helping to care for our environment and safeguard these precious places for the future."