TWO Barrow residents have been praised by their community for being good neighbours.

Donna and Michael Murphy have been married for 27 years and were nominated for Barrow Borough Council's 'Good Neighbour ‘Award.

Together they have worked to keep the area around their home on Mardale Grove tidy and clean for their neighbours.

Donna, also known as Dee, has worked with her husband to keep the street they have lived on for 41 years neat for the community.

She said: "Getting the award was a bit of a shock.

"A lady called Debby from the housing department has liaised with us to get a skip for the area. Then we rounded up a team of volunteers to go out and get stuff moved.

"I live with a disability so I was more like the foreman, shouting orders about.

"There had been a pile of bins around the area near people's gardens, and there were people who couldn't get them moved.

"There was a disabled man who lived a few doors down who had somethings we needed to move, as he couldn't do it himself.

"We like to try and help people, keep the grasses down by the side of the roads, pick up any litter and just keep the place looking nice.

"I'm more of the emotional support for the neighbours. There are a couple of young mums in the area who like to come round for a brew and a natter. The kids like to play in the garden.

"It's a place with a real sense of community.

"We've lived on this street for the last 41 years and it's our home. We've been in this house for the last 23 years. Everyone is always looking out for their neighbours, it's about people being there for other people.

"I was really shocked when we got the award. Really shocked. We got a letter through the door saying that we had been nominated by Debbie. We won the award and we were so surprised by it all.

"We got £30 in gift vouchers as a reward which felt so good.

"We will probably do a little BBQ in a few weeks and do some games with them all. Do a little something for the summer.

"This weekend we're concentrating on putting the grass down in front of gardens, as some of the grass has grown a lot at one of the houses.

"The next weekend we hope to get some kids together, give them each a bag and have them do a little litter pick maybe around the grove.

"This has all been a bit of a recent thing for us. But it brightens people's days.

"Michael was as shocked as I was when we found out.

"It's lovely round here and we're all one big family. We love them all."

Barrow Council Housing Department spokesman said: "Having a good neighbour can make such a difference to a community, and this is something we like to reward.

"Congratulations to Donna and Michael Murphy, latest winners of our Good Neighbour ‘Thank You’ who were nominated for helping to keep their neighbourhood clean and tidy."