PICTURESQUE Ashton Keynes has won the title of the best-kept village in Wiltshire for the fourth time in the last seven years.

Judges from the Council for the Protection of Rural England selected it to win the honour in the Large Villages category in the Calor Gas Village of the Year competition.

The village also won the title in 1998, 1991 and 1985.

Carol Ames, chairwoman of Ashton Keynes Parish Council, said villagers were thrilled with the result.

"It's wonderful to have won. People in the village make a real effort to keep their gardens tidy. They take pride in their environment and take time to make the village look nice."

She added that David Clover, the village handy man and vice-chairman of the Parish Council, had worked hard to maintain the village.

David said: "It is quite an honour to win something like this four times."

Other villages near Swindon that did well included Longcot near Faringdon, which won Best Newcomer and Best Kept Small Village in the Oxfordshire heat of the competition.

Winners from the regional heats will be invited to compete to represent their county in the Calor Village of the Year for England and Wales.