Britain's dedicated housing world honoured at the 2009 Housing Heroes Awards

The "unsung heroes" of the housing world were honoured at a glittering awards ceremony in London on 10 June, hosted by Michael Portillo.

Brent Housing Partnership's Neighbourhood Wardens Service was the winner of the Customer Services Team of the Year, beating stiff competition from around the country. The lunchtime awards ceremony was organised by Inside Housing and the Chartered Institute of Housing and was attended by more than 700 people from right across the UK.

The Editor of Inside Housing, Stuart Macdonald, said: "The housing sector is characterised by the commitment, passion and flair of the people who work in it. They are dedicated, innovative and creative individuals and teams. And that's why we launched these awards - to shine the spotlight on those "unsung heroes" of the housing world, so others can learn from them. I was amazed by the number of entries we received - over 300 - and the overall calibre. The standard was really high and I was amazed at the compassion and commitment shown by our winners."

The event was sponsored by Campbell Tickell, Insight, CSCS and Tribal. and supported by a number of other leading organisations from across the housing sector.

Guests gathered for the celebrations at the prestigious London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane and enjoyed a terrific big screen presentation. The President of the Chartered Institute of Housing, Steve Benson, also addressed the audience.

The judges included some the most respected people in the industry, including Roy Irwin, the Chief Inspector of Housing at the Audit Commission, Elizabeth Sealey from the Communities & Local Government department, Imelda McGrath from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the head of social housing finance at Barclays, Steve Amos.