IN PICTURES: Community heroes have a ball at Dudley Civic Awards

The Mayor hosted the evening which saw the civic award winners presented with their prizes and thousands of pounds raised for charity.

It was the first time the Mayor's Civic Awards have been part of the annual charity ball, which was this year sponsored by Halesowen based security specialists Custom Technology Solutions.

Winners were also presented with unique hand-crafted glassware for their efforts.

The main award, the Mayor's Pride of Dudley award went to Raj Kaur who runs Unique Fitness in Dudley after receiving the most votes in an online public vote.

• Mayor's pride of Dudley award (Winner): Raj Kaur (Free classes at Unique Fitness)

• Mayor's pride of Dudley award (Nominees): The Green Team, Jasmine Road Community Gardens and St John’s Church Preservation Group

• Cedric Hardwicke award for art (Winner): The Fizzogs (Black Country Festival)

• Cedric Hardwicke award for art (Runner-up): Gig Caritas (Raised more than £20k for charities)

• William Shenstone award for environment (Winner): Roy Burgess (Conservation work)

• William Shenstone award for environment (Runner-up): Graham Beckley (Volunteering and photography)

• Thomas Attwood award for education (Winner): Linda Perkins (Head at St Mary’s CE Primary School)

• Thomas Attwood award for education (Runner-up): Russell Hinton (Head at the Brier School)

• Mike Holder award for business (Winner): Klick Business Solutions (Public and private sector tender writing)

• Mike Holder award for business (Runner-up): Kay Bowen (Runs a weight loss business)

• Duncan Edwards award for sport (Winner): Zara-Jade Turton (Windsor High School gymnast)

• Duncan Edwards award for sport (Runner-up): Gavin Pardoe (Unit 3 Sixty indoor skateboarding)

• Frank Foley Award for community spirit (Winner): Rachael Gardener (We Love Carers charity)

• Frank Foley Award for community spirit (Runner-up): Susan Bates (Foster carer)

The Fizzogs, famous for their impromptu dance routines dressed as grannies won the Cedric Hardwicke award for art for their work on the Black Country Festival. The runner-up prize went to Gig Caritas a performance group which has raised more than £20,000 for local charities.

Councillor Steve Waltho, Mayor of Dudley, said: "We owe such a debt to our community volunteers who go above and beyond without thanks. Until tonight they really were the unsung heroes of the borough, and I hope the awards have gone some way to thanking them for all their hard work.

"My five charities were also winners on the night as we managed to raise thousands of pounds to help them continue their support.

"Thank you to everyone who supported the charity ball this year."

Guests at the event included Mayor's from neighbouring boroughs as well as the Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Richard Boot.

The William Shenstone award for environment went to Roy Burgess, from Halesowen, who has been doing conservation work on public rights of way across the borough. The runner-up prize went to Graham Beckley, from Stourbridge, for photographing and volunteering in numerous clean ups and enhancement projects.

Linda Perkins, head teacher at St Mary's CE Primary School in Kingswinford, won the Thomas Attwood award for education, after impressing judges with her work at the school. Russell Hinton received the runner-up prize for his work as head teacher at the Brier School, and helping them school achieve three consecutive outstanding Ofsted ratings under his leadership.

Klick Business Solutions, a Wordsley based firm specialising in supporting the public and private sector in sourcing, researching, writing and presenting tender submissions, won the Mike Holder award for business.

Rachael Gardener, from Stourbridge, also won the Frank Foley Award for community spirit while The Duncan Edwards award for sport went to Zara-Jade Turton, who has Down Syndrome and is a pupil at Windsor High School where she has a passion for rhythmic gymnastics.

The other three nominees in the Mayor's Pride of Dudley Award – The Green Team, Jasmine Road Community Gardens and St John's Church Preservation Group – received a special award from the Mayor in recognition of their work.

The awards were also backed by local companies who sponsored the event including Stourbridge College, Jessup Brothers, and Sanders and Co solicitors among others.

The Mayor's five charities this year are The Hope Centre, The What Centre, More Mascots Please, Leukaemia Unit Appeal Fund, Russells Hall and The West Midlands Lupus Group.

The ceremony took place on March 18.