Former Mayor of Darlington Beatrice Cuthbertson is the town's Citizen of the Year.

Mrs Cuthbertson, 83, earned the title for her voluntary work in Sadberge, where she is a former parish council chairman. She is still involved in the Sadberge Pensioners' Association and the village hall committee and is chairman of the Darlington Association of Parish Councils.

Mrs Cuthbertson said: "I am very honoured. I don't really know what I have done to deserve this but I really must thank the people of Sadberge for nominating me. I do a lot in the village, and for the St Teresa's Hospice - I just do everything that anyone asks me."

The Red Hall Partnership won the Community Group Award.

Nominees for the Citizen of the Year were: David Regan of the Cockerton and Branksome Living Enterprise (Cable), Keith Miller of the Darlington Residents' Panel, and Eileen Shephard of the Whinfield Residents' Association. Nominees for the Community Group were: Cable, which won in 2002, Mount Pleasant Rangers Junior Football Club, and the Darlington Residents' Panel.

The awards are sponsored by the mayor's charity fund and The Northern Echo.