Customer service award for courts

Courts in Avon and Somerset have achieved an award for the quality of their customer service.

The area is one of the first in the country to achieve Her Majesty's Court Services'(HMCS) Charter Mark.

The award is the government's national standard for organisations who deliver public services.

Area director Rod White said: "It is a wonderful achievement and is testament to all the hard work Avon and Somerset staff put in on a daily basis."

HMCS aims to achieve full Charter Mark accreditation across the whole of England and Wales by 2009.