Charity fundraisers, volunteers and a scout leader who have made a significant contribution to life in the borough have been honoured at the council’s annual civic awards.

A total of 25 nominees were recognised at Barnet Borough Council's special ceremony held at Hendon Town Hall, in The Burroughs.

All of those nominated were presented with certificates by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Melvin Cohen.

Six of the nominees were judged to have made an outstanding contribution and were presented with a framed certificate in recognition of their achievements.

Among the top six was Sunethra Goonewardene who was awarded in recognition of her work as a founding member of the voluntary group, Barnet Borough Sight Impaired (BBSI).

BBSI is a charity for blind and partially sighted people in Barnet which works to support people with sight difficulties, as well as raise awareness and organise social events.

Amratlal Depala was awarded in recognition of his leadership and charity work for a religious group while Clive Hailey was honoured for his work with the scouting movement for more than 60 years.

Valery Owen was praised for her “outstanding” voluntary contribution and fundraising efforts for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal in Edgware, and Dr Nathubhai Shah MBE was congratulated on his contribution as founder of the Jain Network, which has created a place of study and worship for Jains in the community.

Dr Shah was also awarded for serving public life in Barnet, including his involvement with the Barnet Multifaith Forum, Barnet Vision Strategy Group and CommUNITY Barnet.

And Pollyanna Tucker received an award in recognition of her “dedication and tireless charity work”, raising funds for Barnet Carers Centre.

Her fundraising efforts have included walking over hot coals, sky diving, having her head shaved on three occasions and creating a plaster cast of her bottom.

The Mayor said: “As always the annual Civic Awards highlight some of the truly inspirational contributions residents make to life in the borough and I would like to thank all the nominees.

“These awards give us an opportunity to acknowledge some of the ways our residents selflessly dedicate their time to other people and worthwhile causes.”