Beccles residents are being asked to nominate members of the community who make a real different to the town.

Each year Beccles Town Council hands out community awards to celebrate those who go above and beyond.

The three awards are the Leslie Freeman Award for long service, the Robert (Bob) Ellwood Plate for outstanding service in the Community and the Eileen Crisp Award for youth.

The nomination must contain a brief description including information such as their length of service, role in the organisation or as an individual and any other details pertinent to their volunteering role.

A council spokesman said: 'Beccles is very fortunate in that it has a wealth of people that give up their time for free or who go above and beyond what is required of them in order to help others. There are some that are dedicated to providing facilities and services that are vital to the community and its vibrancy and others that fund raise tirelessly for good causes. Everybody probably knows somebody or is aware of somebody who goes that extra mile.'

The council likes to surprise the successful nominees, and asks that anyone writing in does not make them aware that they have been nominated.

After the winners have been chosen, both the nominee and their nominated person will be notified and invited to the Christmas Town Council meeting where the mayor will present them with an award for their category. They will be invited to stay for refreshments after the presentation.

Nominations for the awards should be made by Wednesday, November 8, and sent to the deputy town clerk, Beccles Town Council, Town Hall, The Walk, Beccles, NR34 9AJ.