People are being asked to nominate unsung heroes in the borough for a Civic Award.

The awards are presented by the Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Anne Millward, at her annual charity ball in April which raises thousands of pounds for worthy causes.

The public now have a couple of weeks to nominate the people who go above and beyond in their communities for the awards, which are this year in association with Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

The winners and runners-up will be announced at The Mayor’s Ball and Civic Awards, which will take place on Friday April 8 at the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill. The event this year has a Peaky Blinders theme, with tickets now on sale at https://www.mayorofdudley.org.uk/balltickets

The annual ball raises thousands of pounds for the Mayor’s chosen charities each year and award winners will have the chance to celebrate their achievements with distinguished guests.

Local businesses have this year backed the awards, which are all named after heroes of the borough.

They are:

• The Duncan Edwards award for sport
• The Cedric Hardwicke award for arts
• The Frank Foley award for community spirit
• The Thomas Attwood award for education
• The Mike Holder award for business
• The William Shenstone award for environment

The awards are all sponsored by local businesses including Merry Hill Shopping Centre, SF Harrison Roofing, Aebi Schmidt, Sharp, Excel 2000 Windows and Jewson. Nominations for this year’s awards are now open and people will be able to put names forward until March 7. Councillor Anne Millward, the Mayor of Dudley, said:

"The Civic Awards are an ideal opportunity to reward people who have gone above and beyond helping others within our community.

"It only takes a few minutes to nominate someone, and it’s worth it to see these dedicated people getting the recognition they deserve with one of our civic awards."

There is also a seventh trophy, the Mayor’s Pride of Dudley Award, which will be decided by a public vote in March. The Mayor will choose three people or groups she has met on her civic engagements in her Mayoral year. The public will then have the chance to vote online for the winner. Nominations cannot be put forward for this particular award. A judging panel will decide the other six categories.

People can nominate online, or get more information at mayorofdudley.org.uk/civicawards or pick up a nomination form from libraries and leisure centres across the borough.