A HUNT is underway to find the next recipient of a countryside conservation award in memory of a former rambler.

For the second year running, the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership is scouring the area to find someone worthy of winning The Pendlebury Award.

Nominations opened on Monday (April 14) and will close on Wednesday, May 28.

The award, a tribute to the organisation’s first chairman, former councillor and lifelong nature enthusiast Bob Pendlebury, was launched after his death in 2012.

Last June, the award was presented to Dr Margaret Bradshaw MBE, from Eggleston in Teesdale, for her dedication to studying and championing the rare species of plants in the area.

The AONB Partnership’s current chairman, Coun Eddie Tomlinson, said: “The award is a real celebration of the people and organisations that do so much to keep the North Pennines such a special place.”

The recipient of The Pendlebury Award will be decided through a ballot of the members of the AONB Partnership.

For more information and nomination forms, contact the AONB Partnership on 01388-528801 or visit northpennines.org.uk.