A Moray town has received the first official Scots Toun status for the work it does in promoting Scots language and culture.
With the title Keith has also secured a £6,000 prize towards the promotion of Scots and Doric.
The award was launched by the Scottish Government and the Scots Language centre, and it aims to recognise the role of Scottish language and dialects in community life.
Keith Community Council, in association with the Keith and Strathisla Regeneration Partnership, compiled an application for the award earlier this year.
Keith native and treasurer of the community council Marguerite Cruickshank said: “It’s absolutely wonderful that we’ve received this award and it’s good timing because last year we had a new In Keith website launched.
“I’ve been personally trying to get recognition since 2005 and I’ve always had an interest in the language (Scots) because its my first language and I’ve been brought up with it.
“It will help to promote the language in Keith further and work towards achieving Scottish town status in 2015.
“It has been a very much community effort with a lot of organisations supporting it.”
The judging criteria included things like the use of Scots as a spoken language, visible use of Scots in the community, the use of Scots amongst young people and the opportunity to learn the Scots language.
The application included evidence of how Doric is used in everyday life in Keith with vox pops of conversations in Mid Street and DVDs and presentations showing how the language is used in school assemblies. Newspaper cuttings and photographs also supported the bid.