VOLUNTEERS making a Teignbridge village a green and pleasant place have been rewarded for their hard work.

Exminster Green Spaces has won a top award from Wild About Devon.

The group has been announced the winners of the Community Wildlife Group of the year.

A spokesman said: ‘This is wonderful news and well done and a huge thank you to all the Green Spaces volunteers and in particular our leader Jeremy Pyne

‘This is a great achievement to be judged the best as there are so many excellent groups throughout Devon all working hard and helping engage community action for wildlife.’

Exminster Green Spaces is a working party of Exminster Parish Council, comprising enthusiastic volunteers with the aim of enhancing the green spaces in the village for people and wildlife.

Projects have included planting 1000s of spring bulbs, patches of wild flowers, building a bank and hedge in Crockwells Meadow planting a Community Orchard and planting many varieties of trees throughout the village.

Most recently Jeremy has been one of the driving forces behind the creation of a community garden

in part of the St Martin’s Church allotment site alongside the churchyard.

The garden, for food crops and flowers, is planned to be a ‘significant’ project for the village, providing a ‘calm and beautiful space’ for the community to enjoy.

As well as food and flowers, the project will aim to save water and create new habitats for wildlife.

Other recent projects by the group include planting more primroses and tidying and extending the wildflower garden by the Deeply Centre.

A small flower bed has also been dug and planted with wild flower see in Jubilee Close.

Exminster Green Spaces was formed as a group of volunteers on a mission to enhance green areas of the village for people and wildlife.