TWO community groups in Herefordshire have been awarded the highest honour from the Queen for volunteer groups.

The Vennture charity and the Pride in Pembridge community group have both been given the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2018.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises outstanding work undertaken in the community and was established in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen’s coronation and is equivalent to an MBE for volunteer groups.

Any volunteer group undertaking work that provides a social, economic or environmental service to the local community can be nominated for the award.

Vennture provides street pastors where teams of trained church volunteers work in Hereford on busy weekend nights to help and keep vulnerable people safe.

They also run Emilia’s Place, when drunk people can go to sober up, and Lean on Me, which provides trained volunteers to care for the injured or impaired in Hereford’s night time economy. There are also Vennture ambassadors and family pastors.

Pride in Pembridge is a community group of volunteers who been dedicated to enhancing the historic village of Pembridge for the enjoyment of the village and its many visitors.

Both organisations will receive a certificate signed by the Queen and a domed glass crystal at special ceremonies. The presentations will take place later in the year will be made on behalf of the Queen by the Dowager Countess of Darnley, the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service independent committee chairman Sir Martyn Lewis said: "This year’s record number of Queen’s Award awardees are a powerful testimony to the remarkable achievements and innovative ideas which characterise volunteering in the UK.

"They prove that, more than ever, volunteers beavering away at grassroots level are the active lifeblood of our communities, identifying all kinds of problems and issues and tackling them with enthusiasm, talent and a high degree of success."

Any volunteer group interested in the QAVS Award for 2019, should look for further details at qavs.direct.gov.uk or contact the Herefordshire Lieutenancy on 01432 260494 / 260024. The closing date for the online nominations is September 14.