Dartmouth has blooming well done it again.

For the second year running the town has taken gold in the regional finals of the Royal Horticultural Society's prestigious annual Britain in Bloom awards.

The town walked off with the top gold award for coming first in its group of South West towns of a comparable size plus a top trophy in the flower power awards which were announced at a special ceremony at Weston Super Mare.

On top of that Dartmouth came away with a gold flag award, two gold certificates and five neighbourhood awards for its outstanding floral efforts.

Dartmouth in Bloom spokesman Sue Thomson said the town's floral team were delighted by the results.

'We think that it is absolutely marvellous. I think that everyone is very, very pleased. We have also come away from the presentations with lot of ideas for next year,' she said.

A band of some nine Dartmouth bloom supporters travelled to Weston Super Mare for the presentations.

They included town mayor Paul Allen, who is chairman of the town's bloom committee, Dartmouth In Bloom committee members and council staff who work on keeping the town's Royal Avenue Gardens in peak condition.

Dartmouth has now won an award in the annual bloom awards for the 33 years it has been entering the competition.

One of this year's neighbourhood awards went to the town council owned allotments in Milton Lane where townspeople have been growing their vegetables on 15 separate plots for almost three years.

Another went to Dartmouth Academy for the Seaside Garden which was designed by academy student Scarlett Holmes and built by a community effort this year.

The Britannia Royal Navel College's Britannia Wood also won a neighbourhood award for the second year running.

This year the award was presented for the college's environmental efforts which has included setting up bird and bat boxes in the wood, revealed Sue.

St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic School in Dartmouth also won an award for its vegetable and flower gardens.

And Dartmouth in Bloom itself picked up the fifth neighbourhood award for its embankment greenhouse and the gardens outside.

The Dartmouth in Bloom Committee has a core membership of some 14 enthusiasts backed up with more than 90 Friends of Dartmouth in Bloom.

It costs the bloom group some £11,000 a year to get the town in tip top condition for the awards with dozens of hanging baskets and other floral displays across the town.

The bloom group fund raises to raise the cash as well as getting grants from Dartmouth Town Council, South Hams Council and Devon County Council.

'We also get sponsors,' said Sue. 'The people in the town are very generous to us.'

Sue pointed out that the bloom group would be able to fly their new flag award from the flagpole which was only installed this year outside the award winning greenhouses.

Dartmouth in Bloom has just announced the results of its local bloom competition open to shops, pubs and gardens across the town.

The annual competition is run by Dartmouth in Bloom to help encourage the town to do its floral best.

Results :

Businesses: 1 The Kitchen Shop; 2 The Gem Shop; 3 Sally Brown.

Hotels: 1 Dart Marina Hotel; 2 Royal Castle Hotel.

Sheltered Housing: 1 Holdsworth House; 2 Churchill Court; 3 Kingsway House.

Hidden Gardens: 1 9 Victory Road; 2 41 Seymour Drive; 3 8 Crowthers Hill.

Public Houses: 1 The Windjammer; 2 The Cherub; 3 George and Dragon.

Locality: 1 The Market; 2 Browns Hill; 3 Foss Street.

Clubs: 1 The Anzac Club; 2 Dartmouth Yacht Club; 3 Dartmouth and District Conservative Club.

Bed and Breakfast and Guest Houses: 1 Cladda; 2 Cherubs Nest; 3 Valley House.

Best Front Garden: 1 56 Britannia Avenue; 2 (joint) 9 Mount Boon Way and 16 Coombe Road; 3 Fleetwater, Weeke Hill.

Hanging Baskets: 1 R C Pillar and Sons; 2 The Kitchen Shop; 3 Millstream.

Troughs: 1 91a Townstal Road; 2 Glass; 3 8 Crowthers Hill.

Containers: 1 9 Browns Hil; 2 24 browns Hill; 3 White Sails.

Cafes and Restaurants: 1 Singing Kettle; 2 Anzac Bistro; 3 Dart Café.

Seaside Garden: 1 9 Victory Road; 2 Great Escapes; 3 16 Coombe Road.

Special award to Dartmouth Academy for its seaside garden designed by academy student Scarlett Holmes.