POSITIVE community action is to be rewarded by local authorities and industry after local groups and individuals were nominated for awards.

Four community action awards are to be presented in recognition of efforts made by local groups in the Blackburn and Darwen area.

The award for the best school will go to Darwen Moorland for its SCAT team which has just launched its latest recycling scheme to help clean up the area,

Supervised by year eight head Elaine Hillary, the 25 students have spent lunch hours and other free time on a number of initiatives ranging from police liaison, law and order and personal safety to raising cash for animals. They have also worked in with Wolstenholme Technology to extend its recycling project which this year is set to make cash for charities from aluminium cans.

Darwen Youth Theatre is to receive the youth award for its production of Guys and Dolls. The theatre helped to get together youngsters from the age of 13 to rehearse and present a full-scale play at the town's Library Theatre. When children on the Galligreaves estate in Blackburn found nowhere to play, they planned a playground and collected a petition in support of their dream.

Their work with the development officer in seeing the project come to reality has won them the community section of the award.

The park was officially opened by the mayor last November with the team of youngsters looking on.

The individual award will go to Alison Briggs, of Moorland High School, who for the past few years has been actively involved with the St John Ambulance. She has been a keen volunteer, providing first aid cover at public events, and also volunteers to help with a group of disabled people enabling them to get out of their homes one night a week.

The community action awards are run in conjunction with Blackburn Council, the Blackburn Partnership, McDonald's, Blackburn Lions, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, the CVS, Blackburn College and Radio Lancashire.

They will be presented at a reception at Blackburn Town Hall on Thursday.

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