An idyllic Monmouthshire village scooped up a national award for its ‘beautiful’ features, over the weekend.

Usk will share the top accolade for the large village category of the prestigious Britain in Bloom awards, having won the category for 36 years in a row.

The village earned a gold medal, with judges particularly impressed by the castle, a garden known as The White Garden and Usk’s florid mix of wildflowers.

Judges chairman Roger Burnett said, “It’s a huge honour to witness how Britain in Bloom brings people together and the lengths that groups go to to make their communities clean, green and beautiful.

“We saw an incredible diversity of different planting schemes, including wildflower meadows for wildlife, community food growing and plants chosen to cope with our changing climate.

“This year, the standard was as high as ever but what really stood out was the creativity and ingenuity that groups showed in tackling the specific challenges of their particular areas, whether that be lack of funding, local social issues or tricky site conditions.”

Usk in Bloom said it was ‘delighted’ by the award.