THE fantastic work of volunteers who make a real difference to their communities has been recognised with the presentation of a number of awards in Horwich and Adlington.
Horwich mayor Sue Denton presented a civic medal to Colin Myers in recognition of 20 years' service to junior football in the town.
Colin headed up the start of Horwich RMI Junior Football Club in 2001 and since then the club has grown and continues to thrive.
Colin has spent all that time with the club, volunteering as a coach, manager, welfare officer and club chairman.
The club he started has seen hundreds of children pass through its system and currently has more than 250 players registered along with an array of teams.
Colin is also a volunteer with The Community Partnership League and has been its discipline officer since it was set up in 2007.
A council spokesperson said: "Volunteers such as Colin who give up so much of their time are the very reason grassroots clubs, teams and leagues continue to flourish."
Councillor Denton has also presented a civic medal to Delia McGeehan in recognition of her long voluntary service to her community.
Delia was born in and still lives in Horwich and over the years has operated a taxi service, an ice cream van and a sweet shop in the town.
She was a volunteer for St John's Ambulance for 42 years during which time she opened the Horwich Badgers set.
She was also mayoress of Horwich in 2000-20001 and deputy mayoress in 1999-2000, supporting her husband Peter in his mayoral role.
Delia was a member of Horwich in Bloom, the carnival committee and the Friends of Crowborough. She carried out volunteer work with adults with learning difficulties and opened a drop-in centre for them at Horwich Community Centre.
More recently she has entertained local care home residents with live music as part of the band U-Neek and has also given talks on the history of confectionary.
In a separate ceremony, Adlington mayor Kevin O'Donnell was on hand to present a Good Citizen award to Lois Birtwistle.
The award was given for the "inspiration and energy" which Lois has brought for many years for the planning and organisation of Adlington Carnival.
Local business Fairview Cleaners also received a community service award from the town council.
The company was represented by Sharon Booth and Annie Lilley, who took part in the civic parade and awards ceremony at St Paul's Church.