Hilary Smith accepts the environmental award from Les Goodman, president of Heart of England in Bloom

Volunteers working to restore the Lichfield canal have been presented with a special award.

Heart of England in Bloom have honoured the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust with the environmental accolade.

Hilary Smith accepts the environmental award from Les Goodman, president of Heart of England in Bloom
Hilary Smith accepts the environmental award from Les Goodman, president of Heart of England in Bloom

The news was received at a presentation ceremony last week.

Heart of England in Bloom chairman Roger Bache said: “Undertaking any restoration project is never easy but to do it purely through volunteers makes it a monumental task.

“Lichfield Canal volunteers have literally moved heaven and earth to restore the first section of the former canal, digging it out where it’s been filled and rebuilding walls and locks, with salvaged bricks and stone whenever possible.

“As if this feat of engineering wasn’t enough, they have restored the towpath and provided landscaping and seating to allow people to access and enjoy the fruits of their labours – a truly amazing piece of voluntary graft.

“Here’s to the next section!”

The canal project was also praised for its part in helping Lichfield win a silver gilt award in the small city category.

Hilary Smith, who accepted the award on behalf of Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, said: “The award is official recognition for all the hours of hard work, over many years, undertaken by the environmental and maintenance teams of the Trust during the ongoing restoration of the Lichfield Canal.”