HEROES on and off the court were celebrated at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Lawn Tennis Association's annual awards ceremony at New Road, Worcester.

Victorious teams toasted success in the MANTIS Sport H&W Summer and Winter Leagues while stalwarts of the game were singled out for their grassroots efforts.

Among those to win under the umbrella of the British Tennis Awards was Elaine Ball from Droitwich Lido Park Tennis Courts.

She was the H&W volunteer of the year after running a campaign to refurbish the courts.

HDA Redditch, led by head coach Tony Ravenscroft, collected the accolade for best venue.

They are in the running for a national award which could see them collect a £5,000 facility grant.

Pershore Tennis Centre had three reasons to cheer with a disability award, Steve Bauer voted coach of the year and Bradley Smith declared young volunteer of the year.

The association's Ginny Lowe said: “The standard of the entries was really high and we’d like to congratulate all of the winners for their achievement.

“The judges had a tough job to select winners due to the overwhelming contribution made at tennis venues across the county.

"It is heartening to award those who put so much effort behind offering great tennis opportunities for all in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.”

The winners go through to a regional judging panel with winners announced in April.

The national ceremony is in London in June or July 2018.