THE North Cotswolds Rotary Club has chosen this year's community service award winner.

Each year North Cotswolds Rotary Club recognises a local group or individuals who have given service to the community, and this year they chose Men in Sheds in Bourton-on-the-Water.. Club president Peter Boxall presented the award to Howard Crook and Pryce Watkins during a regular club meeting at Naunton Downs Golf Club.

The Bourton Shed has been going for two years, and has around 23 members.

In its first year it won the National Association’s New Shedders of the Year Award. The Bourton Shed, based at the Royal British Legion Hall, is where men come together three times a week to enjoy companionship and undertake projects for the community.

The Bourton Men in Sheds group was featured last year in the television programme Countryfile Summer Diaries, and the film highlighted issues facing men affected by loneliness or isolation in a rural area.

The shed provides an opportunity for men to get together socially and use their skills to make or repair things, in response to requests from the community. They do not charge for their work, but they ask those commissioning work to pay for the cost of materials and make a donation to cover costs. Donations, either financial or of tools and equipment, are always welcome.

Examples of their work include making notice boards, building exhibition stands, repairing furniture, fixing fences or gates, and building flower beds in public spaces.

Presenting the award, Mr Boxall thanked the Shedders for their work and hoped that the cheque for £250 would be helpful.

Bourton Men in Sheds is supported by Cotswold Friends, a local charity that also provides community transport, befriending, carer respite, and community activities for older and vulnerable people in the North Cotswolds.