Essex County Council has scooped two golds and one silver award in the Chartered Institute for Public Relations awards.

The Council’s communications and marketing of the Tour de France Essex stage last summer won gold in the Arts, Culture or Sport Campaign in the CIPR East Anglia, Thames and Chiltern Pride Awards.

Another gold went to the Council’s rogue trader campaign, Be Sure at the Door, which was run in partnership with Essex Police and Age UK Essex, winning the Community Relations Campaign category.

A silver award was given to the join Essex County Council and Essex Police campaign, Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, in the Public Sector campaign category.

Senior Communications Officer Lucy Dickinson was a finalist in the coveted Outstanding Young Communicator category.

Essex Means Business, a campaign promoting Essex as the place to be for innovation, skills and enterprise was a finalist in the Corporate and Business Communications Campaign.

Cllr Kevin Bentley, Deputy Leader of Essex County Council, said: “We take pride in our work at Essex County Council.

"It is good to see our excellent communications and marketing team getting recognition from a top professional body.

“Our work across the council is extensive, and affects over a million residents.

"It is essential that they know and understand how we try to improve their lives – and this is where our top quality communications professionals provide a vital link.”

CIPR judges described the Be Sure at the Door campaign as a “particular highlight”.

Judges gave particular credit to this campaign after it stood out for its “exceptional use of cross-channel implementation, showing great understanding and use of stakeholder relations, partnering with other organisations, making this a highly effective campaign in protecting vulnerable audiences.”

Describing the Essex Tour de France gold-winning entry, they said: “This was a cleverly implemented campaign across a range of media and live events which successfully achieved its defined strategic objectives.

"The campaign made the most of the opportunity, reaching new audiences to showcase the region and demonstrate the Council's commitment to sport.”

Adam Tuckwell, Joint Chair of CIPR East Anglia said: “The PRide Awards are a fantastic opportunity to be reminded of the vast amount of talented and creative PR professionals we have in our region.

"Everyone nominated for an award should be incredibly proud of their work.”