A park in Ilford has beaten off tough competition to be voted as one of the best green spaces in the country for the second time.

Last month, more than 45,000 people voted for their favourite park as part of the People's Choice 2019 awards with Valentines Park, in Cranbrook Road, reaching the top ten.

Organised by Keep Britain Tidy, the competition finds the nation's top 10 open spaces from parks which have been awarded Green Flag Award status by the environment charity.

Councillor Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council said: "It's fantastic news that Valentines Park has been voted in the top ten favourite parks in the country.

"We are so fortunate to have so many beautiful green spaces and play parks all around the borough and I'm really pleased that our commitment to and continued investment in providing the very best parks for our residents to enjoy has been recognised once again.

"This really is testament to all of the hard work of our parks team at Vision RCL, as well as volunteers and residents who contribute so much to make this park one we can all be proud of."

In July, eight other Redbridge parks and open spaces successfully retained their coveted Green Flag status for another year.

Running for more than thirty years, the Green Flag is a sign to visitors that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has the very best facilities.