TOWNS and villages across the Borders have been celebrated at the annual Floral Gateway awards.

For the 19th year, Scottish Borders Council hosted a ceremony to recognise the communities who have blossomed over the summer.

Berwickshire village Westruther was named the Champion of Champions after claiming the Wee Village category last year.

After taking over responsibility for maintenance of all the bedding plants and grass cutting the residents have transformed their village.

Grace Donaldson of the Westruther Floral Gateway Group said: “It is wonderful to win this and to get some recognition for all the volunteers.

“We first entered in 2010 and to win the Champion of Champions for a first time is a wonderful feeling.

“It is a community effort - we have around 10 of us but without the help of farmers and others we couldn’t do what we do.”

Taking the Town prize for 2018 was Jedburgh, with Lauder being named best Large Village.

Ayton was named the best Small Village of 2018 and Birgham claimed the Wee Village title.

During the ceremony there were a number of other community awards presented for towns and villages who have played their part to keep the Borders thriving.

And Lauder and Eyemouth were also congratulated for picking up Beautiful Scotland Awards earlier this month.

Councillor Sandy Aitchison, the Executive member for Neighbourhoods, told the ceremony: “We need to thank the various In Bloom groups across the Borders who do fantastic work to help maintain our region all year round.

“It is also great to see the extra efforts made by some groups to improve their communities which have led to national recognition, while the overall winners Westruther have shown tremendous initiative to become largely self-sufficient in terms of maintaining their community.

“This year has seen a Neighbourhoods Review which focussed on changes to grass cutting maintenance and bedding plant provision.

"We need to do thing differently due to the significant financial challenges we are now facing, with a focus also on improving the biodiversity of the Borders.

"Congratulations to all the winners of a Floral Gateway award.”

Healthmatic sponsored the main categories of the Floral Gateway Awards, with the Champion of Champions receiving a £250 voucher and the other category winners picking up a £200 voucher each.

The Quality of Life winners picked up a £100 voucher each sponsored by the local authority and the Clean and Tidy winners received a new litter/dog waste bin for their communities.

Champion of Champions: 1st Westruther; 2nd= Hawick, Coldstream and Coldingham

Town: 1st Jedburgh; 2nd Eyemouth; 3rd Kelso

Large Village: 1st Lauder; 2nd Chirnside

Small Village: 1st Ayton; 2nd Greenlaw; 3rd Ancrum

Wee Village:1st Birgham; 2nd Morebattle; 3rd Burnmouth

Border Biodiversity: 1st Ancrum

Clean and Tidy: 1st= Lauder and Westruther

Quality of Life: 1st= Coldstream, Lauder and Jedburgh

Welcome Award: 1st= Broughton and Hume