WYCHAVON District Council's Environmental Health Department has received a top award from leading accrediting body BSI, the former British Standards Institute.

The accolade makes the council service one of just a handful of local government departments to achieve the standard from scratch.

Nick Baker, head of Environmental Heath, said the department had been turned around in the past two years, with everyone working hard to get quality systems and structures in place.

"No doubt some people will say it's just a badge, but we know there are real benefits behind that badge, especially in continuous improvement and customer focus," he said.

"For us, it puts in place a great deal of what we need in order to provide top-quality services."