COMMUNITY members who have gone above and beyond to help others during lockdown have been honoured with a special award.

The High Sheriff of Cumbria, Julie Barton, has handed out 50 Special Recognition Awards to honour volunteers and individuals going the extra mile throughout the coronavirus crisis to help others.

The Special Recognition Awards are a new honour launched earlier this month for those who have given outstanding support to others during the pandemic.

Mrs Barton said she created the award after receiving an array of stories of kindness and selflessness throughout the country.

She said: "I kept getting contacted about an array of amazing stories of people going above and beyond to help others.

"It's about the very special people who are outstanding in their work towards helping a number of people.

"Anyone can nominate and a select panel decides on the award recipients."

Some of the names among the 50 people who received the special honour include: Jo Porter, a volunteer from SAFA in Barrow, Shirley Waters, a volunteer at Walney Community Centre, Jayne Moorby, a volunteer at Barrow Foodbank and a champion of tackling period poverty and Caroline Smith Dance a volunteer at Ulverston Self-Isolation Group.

Caroline Smith Dance said: "I wasn't expecting the award at all, it's a nice surprise.

"It just came in the post. It's nice to see the town pulling together and doing the right thing. It's not just my award, it's the whole team, it's nice to be recognised but we don't do it for awards but we do it because we should."

Mrs Barton said: "Ulverston Self-Isolation Group provide an array of excellent support to the people of Ulverston.

"The group recruited 364 volunteers in Ulverston who went above and beyond to help people in the community.

"It's incredibly dynamic and adapts all the time to the changing situation of the lockdown. Caroline Smith Dance is a worthy recipient of the High Sheriff Special Recognition Award for her incredible work within the group."