Four members of the 1st Southwold Scouts have been presented with the highest accolades for their age group.

Cub Scouts Angus McLean from Hinton, Charlie Chalker from Wenhaston and Samuel Burrows from Blythburgh, gained the Chief Scout's Silver Award - the top award in the Cub pack.

A further award was presented to Jack Barrett-Kelly, from Gisleham, who achieved the Chief Scout's Gold Award - the top award for the Scout troop.

The awards represent a great deal of hard work and determination from the boys, and their efforts were praised by group leader Bob Mole.

He said: 'The boys have been extremely loyal to the Scout group rarely missing a night or an activity. It is this and their determination that has made this award possible and where many youngsters let themselves down.'

Each boy gave a brief presentation of their journey to gaining their award, explaining that the various badges represented a wide range of interests, skills and sports. They particularly enjoyed working towards the astronomer badge which they did with Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson.

The badges were presented by Peter Jarvis, deputy county commissioner for Suffolk Scouts, who told the boys they should be proud of their efforts.

He said: 'When you look at what these boys did to pass their awards you will see a huge variety of activities and skills achieved, only Scouting offers such opportunities for our young people.'

He thanked the parents for encouraging their sons to take part in Scouting and for driving them to the various activities. He also thanked the team of adult leaders for their hard work.

Each award winner was also presented with a certificate by the mayor of Southwold, Matthew Horwood, who is a former member of 1st Southwold Scouts. He congratulated each of the boys on their achievements and thanked the leaders of the group for their good work in the local community.

The three boys who gained the silver award have now moved up into the Scout troop and have stated working towards their gold. And Jack has offered to stay on as a young leader to pass on his skills and knowledge to others, while working towards his platinum award.