West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin celebrated the arrival of the new year presenting a handful of local young people with their Duke of Edinburgh awards. The MP was invited to present five gold and four bronze awards to award recipients, who are all members of the Malvern’s Boy’s and Girl’s Brigade Companies, at a ceremony held in the Malvern Theatre last week (Saturday January 5). Harriett commented: “This is the third time that I have been asked to present the Duke of Edinburgh awards to the Malvern Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade and its always an inspirational start to the year for me. “It is an amazing achievement for so many people to earn their awards and pleasing to see them taking up jobs and study locally. “The Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme is a great challenge and having chatted to the recipients, it is clear to me that they have found the activities really useful preparing them for the challenges of adult life.” Malvern Hills' Brigade Secretary Paul Hern added: “I would like to thank Harriett for attending and presenting our awards, and also the Malvern Town Council and Worcestershire County Councillors for their financial support which was critical to the success of the youngsters, especially at Gold Level.” Photo: Harriett Baldwin MP (bottom row, centre) with award recipients and officers of the Malvern’s Boy’s and Girl’s Brigade Companies.