Residents in Kings Langley are celebrating after months of hard work have resulted in the village being crowned regional winner of Hertfordshire Village of the Year.

Last Thursday (June 28) members of the Kings Langley Parish Council attended a ceremony at County Hall in Hertford where the village was picked as the winner in the west category, narrowly missing out on the overall title to Braughing.

Judges who visited Kings Langley on June 1 were impressed with the variety and quality of activities on offer which they said "makes it seem, despite its size, more like a miniature market town".

Parish Councillor Gerry Angiolini said he was ecstatic that his and others’ efforts had been recognised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which organises the competition.

He said: "We are absolutely delighted. It has been a pretty substantial effort from a lot of people, not just councillors.

"People stepped forward and did things to make their village a nicer place.

"I don’t think we are disappointed not to have won the overall one. I don’t know what we were quite expecting. It’s an achievement, especially because we haven’t really entered since we won in 1997."

Mr Angiolini said he thought the judges were particularly impressed with their visit to Kings Langley secondary school.

He added: "There were something like 50 boxes we could tick for things the village has and we were able to tick all 50 and I think the judges’ comments were pretty accurate."

Plans are already well underway for an official presentation ceremony attended by a dignitary to take place on July 21.

Anthony Oliver, one of the judges, said of his visit to Kings Langley: "This village is a veritable hive of activity with the sort of volunteer activities which are common to many communities complemented by an unusual range of commercial enterprise.

"This makes it seem, despite its size, more like a miniature market town. It has a long and varied history, which is respected and exploited, but there is no resting of the laurels of heritage.

"The judges were impressed by the dynamism and forward thinking shown on many fronts. There is a particularly positive level of co-operation between village volunteers and local government.

"People from all walks of life join enthusiastically in the planning and implementation of village activities and improvements.”

He continued: "The village is unusual in having a secondary school, which attracts pupils from a wide area. This asset is well exploited for the benefit of the community and is dynamically managed with officially approved plans for redevelopment in the near future."