Volunteers based in Wiveliscombe have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

The Wiveliscombe Area Partnership is an established charity which manages the highly successful community transport service Wivey Link and the town’s Community Office.

It depends on a large team of committed volunteers to make all the work happen, ranging from drivers and volunteer office schedulers to receptionists.

Representatives from WAP attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace and met Annie Maw, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, at the Bath and West Show. They also had an opportunity to meet other nominees from across the county.

Chairman of the partnership, Pauline Homeshaw MBE, said: “I am delighted our wonderful team of volunteers has been recognised in such a prestigious way.

“Ours is a charity which depends almost entirely upon these volunteers and shows that here in Wiveliscombe and surrounding areas, people are connecting with their community by giving their time, their experience and their devotion to so many other people.”

The Wiveliscombe Area Partnership is one of 281 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year.

The number of nominations and awards has increased year on year since the awards were introduced in 2002, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Winners are announced each year on June 2 – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

Representatives of the Wiveliscombe Area Partnership will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset later this summer.