Leighton Buzzard community heroes will be recognised for voluntary work

Two community heroes will be awarded a presitigous accolade from Leighton-Linslade Town Council.

Ian Summerfield and Anne Guess will both receive a 2023 Community Volunteer Award for having undertaken more than five years of voluntary service to the benefit of the town. The pair were nominated by a fellow resident and at a meeting on January 30, councillors chose the "two very deserving recipients" as the winners.

A town council spokesman said: "Anne Guess has been the treasurer and a committee member for Leighton-Linslade Carnival for a number of years, as well as being treasurer and committee member for a number of other groups in the community including scouts, Friends of Tiddenfoot Waterside Park and the Leighton Linslade Music Centre. Anne has also been a town and district councillor, a governor at a local lower school, a leading member of the Town Twinning Forum and has been involved in the Walking for Health initiative.

"Ian Summerfield is another resident with a long history of volunteering to benefit others, with roles in scouting, the Leighton Buzzard Rugby Football Club, the Multiple Sclerosis ('MS') Society, the Rotary Club of Leighton-Linslade and as a governor at Oak Bank Academy. He also spent time as a trustee of the Chiltern MS Centre in Wendover, which serves the Leighton-Linslade community and which has developed into a cutting edge facility."

Mayor Councillor Farzana Kharawala, said: “We are so fortunate in Leighton Buzzard and Linslade to have wonderful community spirit, embodied by these two deserving award recipients. They have done a huge amount to help others and it is right that they should be recognised. It will be an honour to present our 2023 Community Volunteer Awards to them”.

The 2023 awards will be presented at the annual civic service, due to take place at All Saints Church on Sunday, February 26, at 3pm.

The spokesman added: "If volunteering is something you might be interested in doing, why not visit websites such as the Town Council, Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity or Community Voluntary Service Bedfordshire for opportunities?"

The council will be welcoming nominations for the 2024 awards between June and October. Full details can be found on its website.