A WEST Devon hotel is celebrating after scooping a prestigious national eco-award.

Lifton Hall Hotel has been presented with a Carbon Footprint Award after being named the top performing green hotel in UK and Ireland 2010-2011, at an awards ceremony held in London earlier this month.

The awards, endorsed by VisitEngland and organised by the Green Tourism Business Scheme, were presented as part of the first green tourism week, which ran from June 6 to 12.

The Carbon Footprint Award was given to the company with the lowest carbon emissions and sponsored by Ecover environmentally-friendly cleaning products.

The awards were presented by environmental campaigner and writer Tony Juniper, who was also one of the judges.

Mr Juniper said: 'By cutting emissions and waste it is possible to cut costs and increasingly attract those customers who are looking to lighten their impact on the earth.

'I have been hugely impressed by the efforts and am delighted that their pioneering efforts are paying off in terms of customer loyalty and increased bookings.'

Robert Fleming, one of the owners of Lifton Hall Hotel, said: 'I'm delighted and a little shocked to receive the award.

'It's great to get some recognition for the efforts we've made at Lifton Hall.'

Lifton Hall Hotel was recently given a Silver Award by the Green Tourism Business Scheme for their efforts to reduce their impact on the environment.

As well as recycling a lot of their waste and using recycled products where possible, the management are always looking for new ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

l Pictured is Robert Fleming, one of Lifton Hall's owners, receiving the award from Tony Juniper. Also in the picture is Steve Mitchell from sponsors Ecover.