A council has been recognised for its support of service personnel and their families.

Breckland Council has been assigned 'gold' status in the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme.

The programme salutes councils which have put in place considerable support for serving personnel, veterans, families and the wider military community.

Breckland leader, Sam Chapman-Allen, and chief executive, Maxine O'Mahony, picked up the award from the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The new gong builds on the council's previous success in achieving the silver award, a status it has held since 2017.

Breckland is now one of just a handful of local authorities in East Anglia to achieve gold status.

Initiatives in the district include signposting armed forces personnel and their families to support groups, offering one-to-one advice relating to mental health and housing concerns, and supporting employment opportunities within local government.

Visit breckland.gov.uk/armed-forces-community.