BATIAS Independent Advocacy, a charity based in Grays. have been honoured with The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

BATIAS provides independent advocacy for people with learning disabilities, supporting them to make choices about their life and helping them to learn new skills.

The borough is no stranger to organisations being presented with this award.

Last year volunteers at St John the Baptist Church were honoured for their work with Foodbank.

In 2018 there were three winners in the borough. They were the One Community Development Trust, Tilbury, Thurrock Mind and Stanford, Corringham & Tilbury Community First Responders.

And in 2007 the Tilbury Riverside Project and its founder, the late Peter Hewitt, were recognised.

BATIAS, based in the Beehive Community Resource Centre on West Street, enables people to become active citizens, promoting positive social inclusion in the local community and developing vulnerable people's social networks and life opportunities.

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Representatives of BATIAS Independent Advocacy will receive the award crystal and certificate from Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, Lord-Lieutenant of Essex later this summer. Furthermore two volunteers from the group will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2022 (depending on restrictions at the time), along with other recipients of this year's Award

Chair of Trustees Roy Evans, says: "We are delighted and very honoured that BATIAS'S work to support and empower those with learning disabilities has been recognised, and I would like pay tribute to the hard work and commitment of our amazing volunteers."