COMMUNITY superstars in West Somerset from Girl Guide leaders to parish councillors have been honoured for their inspirational and outstanding contribution to the local area.

A total of ten unsung heroes from the district were singled out for recognition in this year's Somerset County Council Chairman's Awards.

More than 40 awards were handed out to individuals and community groups across Somerset at a ceremony in Taunton last Thursday.

County council chairman Cllr David Fothergill said he was proud to be in the presence of the community champions who all deserved huge thanks for what they did.

"The time that they give back to the people in each of their communities is worthy of recognition and I am thrilled I can celebrate their dedication with them," he said.

Among those receiving awards was Linda Sully who, in addition to holding down a full time job, has been a member of the Girl Guides for over 18 years.

She is the treasurer for the Williton Guide Headquarters and organises fundraising events to keep the hut up and running.

Linda has undergone a considerable amount of training over the years, takes Brownies away on holidays and also organises district trips for the whole of the Williton division Brownies, Rainbows and Guides groups.

Roadwater stalwart Mary Coles has been a volunteer with the Roadwater Village Trust for more than 30 years.

She has held roles as committee member, treasurer and is now the trust's secretary.

Mary is described as always being at the forefront of any village issue, helping the community through her other roles, including flood plan co-ordinator and church treasurer, as well as being a friend to everyone.

Dunster parish councillor Kevin Sully has been a part of the authority for the past 30 years or so, holding the title of vice-chairman and taking over as chairman in 2000.

Those who nominated him say he works tirelessly for the village in a variety of ways.

As chairman of the former Festival Committee, he was instrumental in raising large sums of money for the festival in the 1977 Jubilee year.

He is currently a member of the Orchard Committee and continues to put in a lot of physical work for the children's play areas in both the village and Dunster Marsh.

Kevin is involved in all aspects of village life, particularly the school and the organisation of the allotments.

Fundraiser Kathy Prideaux has helped to bring in thousands of pounds for her home village of Allerford.

She serves as a parish councillor and is a good neighbour to the elderly, shopping and helping to care for them.

Kathy is also a flood warden and for many years has organised, cooked, cleaned, been treasurer and co-ordinator for a range of village events, from fetes and flower shows to cream teas and Christmas fairs.

Her devotion to Allerford has even found her cleaning the public toilets in an emergency.

Aubrey Knowles and Teresa Miller were nominated for their work and efforts in bringing together the Stogursey parish oral history project, which took over a year to complete.

This special and unique work has given the community a visual and oral history of Stogursey that will ensure generations to come will have a record of its people, landscape and memories.

The Takel family from Brushford - Phil, Frances and Sam - were all honoured for the huge amount of work they put in to help their small parish.

The trio are said to be renowned for always being on hand to help out.

Frances is a parish councillor and also sits as a trustee on the parish hall's management committee, as well as managing the hall throughout the year.

For many years she has organised the successful annual flower show, which this year attracted more than 300 entries.

Phil and son Sam look after the village's grounds maintenance throughout the year, as well as helping out parishioners with the upkeep of their gardens.

But they also operate the important gritting service, keeping the village roads open and drivable during bad weather, which often means working very early or late in the day.

Sue Shapland received her award for founding the Exmoor Extroverts in 1999 with a trip to the Bristol Hippodrome to see the musical Phantom of the Opera.

She has organised hundreds of trips since - nearly 50 in 2013 alone.

Her efforts have been praised for helping people in isolated and rural communities, particularly single people who without the group would not travel far on their own.