BURNLEY Council and community groups have been honoured for the upkeep of two of the area's main attractions.

Thompson Park in Burnley and Memorial Park in Padiham have been awarded the Green Flag Award for good standards -- the second year in a row the parks have scooped the prestigious award.

Green Flag is the national standard for parks and green spaces. It was established in 1996 and is backed by the Government.

Judges check each park or green space against a variety of criteria which include: standards of maintenance and cleanliness, whether it is a welcoming place and community involvement in management.

Points are awarded for each of the criteria and any green space which gains enough points will be awarded a green flag they can fly for a year.

After a year, the park is reassessed to ensure that its high standards have been maintained.

Councillor Barry Gutteridge, executive member for leisure and welfare said: "This award demonstrates that Thompson Park and Memorial Park are among the best in the country and I would like to congratulate the parks staff and the Friends of Thompson and Queen's Park group and Memorial Park for all their hard work."

Brenda Rochester is a member of the Friends of Thompson Park group. They work with Burnley Borough Council in ensuring the park is well kept and suggest ways of improving it. She said: "We are delighted that Thompson Park has won this award.

"We are very proud to have such a wonderful park on our doorstep and the friends group is determined it will continue to improve."