People from more than 130 Nottingham neighbourhoods celebrated at the Council House as they received certificates in the East Midlands in Bloom 'It's Your Neighbourhood' Awards.

About 6,000 residents have been involved in greening and cleaning up their own areas in liaison with Nottingham in Bloom in 2010 and are having their efforts recognised through the awards, which are run by the Royal Horticultural Society. Ten Nottingham neighbourhoods have been assessed as 'outstanding.'

Councillor Malcolm Wood, Chair of the Nottingham in Bloom Working Group, said: "The community have really taken this neighbourhood Bloom campaign to their hearts, and as a result we now have grass roots involvement in areas that have never played a big part in Nottingham in Bloom in the past.

"It is fantastic to see the tremendous enthusiasm of people who are working together to make their area a better place to live. I congratulate all the groups on their achievements this year and hope we can work with them to ensure that the improvements they have made really take root and flourish in the years ahead."

People entering the awards have reported not only a better environment in which to live but also making friends with neighbours they never knew, improved community spirit and more pride in the area. The groups include streets, sheltered housing complexes, housing associations, churches, Friends of parks groups, Neighbourhood Watch groups and tenants' and residents' associations. Projects range from work on local nature reserves to hanging basket schemes, vegetable growing to roof gardens, and community gardens to churchyards.