A DEDICATED Tenbury couple have been rewarded for their years of hard work within the local community.

Janet and Tony Penn were recently honoured by the Diocese of Hereford for their long-standing service to St Michael's Church in Tenbury Wells, and proudly collected their awards along with 26 other recipients.

(Image: Jane Jenner) Mr Penn was honoured for his 56 years of service as a PCC member, including 35 years as a lay chair, and his tireless work in preserving the church building and its Henry Willis pipe organ and in securing funding to modernise the facilities with greater accessibility.

Mrs Penn was honoured for her 47 years of work as a PCC member and churchwarden supporting the church with her floristry experience, and fundraising through plant and Christmas wreath sales, coffee and cake, lunches and medieval banquets.

(Image: Jane Jenner)

Emma Thornton-Jones, one of the couples' daughters, said it was a very proud and emotional moment for the family as they accepted the awards.

"Our parents have worked tirelessly and with so much devotion as did all the other amazing people who accepted the awards at Hereford cathedral, it was such a lovely thing to be recognised for all their hard work, which they have thoroughly enjoyed over so many years.

"St Michaels and the surrounding area has provided such an incredible sense of thriving community, which has been of great social benefit and has given them a great sense of purpose which is so important."

The couple's second daughter, Sarah Whitehead, said she was extremely proud of her parents, but even more so by a recent gathering at the church to mark their 60 years of connection to St Michael's, with over 100 people gathering to celebrate.

"We were humbled by the love and respect from members of the parish," she added.

The praise for the couple doesn't end there, with the couple's third daughter adding that as well as supporting the church for so long, her mother has raised thousands of pounds for other local and national charities, including Tenbury Community Pool.

"She is particularly well known for her fundraising lunches," she said.