Paul Street and Cllr Barry Abraham collecting the fire service of the year award.
FIVE years after receiving a poor rating at audit, the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service has gone on to become fire service of the year.
The accolade was awarded to the Island by Improvement and Efficiency South East on Thursday.
Designed to recognise major achievements by local authorities in the south east region, the awards were given to councils which had made a significant step in improving access to valuable services and demonstrating effective innovation in efficiencies and improvement.
The Island was nominated by all of the region's chief fire officers.
The Island’s fire and rescue service has made great progess after receiving a poor rating under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment by the Audit Commission in 2005.
Under the Fire Service Modernisation project, it is striving to become a more modern, responsive and efficient fire service.
Chief fire officer Paul Street and council cabinet member for fire and community safety Cllr Barry Abraham accepted the award, which was presented by Cllr Bryan Cope, from Kent County Council.
Mr Street said: "We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without the support of council members and senior council officers who have been instrumental in driving through changes to produce an effective and modern fire and rescue service to be proud of."
Cllr Abraham added: "This award is testament to the work we have carried out over recent years to create a modern fire service fit for the Island’s needs."