MEMBERS of the Scouting movement who gathered to celebrate their achievements over the last year were thrilled by the arrival of the Olympic Torch.

The Malverns District Scout Council held its annual presentation evening and annual meeting at the 2nd Malvern headquarters in Spring Lane.

They welcomed a special guest in the form of Olympic torchbearer Wayne Whittaker, of Malvern, who is the Cub Scout leader of the 7th Malvern pack.

He delighted the hundreds gathered by arriving in his full torchbearer uniform, fresh from carrying the torch through Worcester just a few days beforehand.

Other special guests were Malvern Hills District Council chairman Paul Tuthill and Malvern’s mayor Ian Hopwood, who spoke about his own time in Scouting.

The evening saw 409 chief Scout bronze awards presented to Beaver Scouts, 23 chief Scout silver awards for Cubs, four chief Scout gold awards handed out to Scouts and various presentations to leaders.

The event saw the presentation of eight Silver Acorn awards. District commissioner Derek Barnes stressed that these were reserved for many years of “truly outstanding” service, saying: “It is extremely rare for eight such awards to be presented in one district in one year.”

The recipients were Pete Ashcroft and Les Lane, both camp wardens for the district campsite at Warren Oak, 1st Leigh Cubs leader June Etheridge, 1st Leigh group leader Paul Etheridge, district appointments secretary Pauline Richardson, former district appointments secretary Geraldine Shaw and former 1st Malvern Link group leader Sandra Starkey.

A Silver Acorn was also awarded to Mr Barnes, who announced that he would be leaving the role of district commissioner at the end of June. He will be succeeded by Paul Griffiths, chairman of the Malverns District and of Hereford and Worcester Scout County.