RESIDENTS have been pulling out all the stops for Magna’s annual Christmas decorations competition.

The housing association’s popular competition has been running for a number of years and this year saw 19 sheltered housing schemes across Dorset take part.

There were three top prizes awarded, one for the Dorchester area, one for Bridport and one for Sherborne.

Fairfield in Dorchester claimed the top prize and £60 cash while Fulbrooks Close won in Bridport and Durrant Close claimed the prize in Sherborne.

Magna resident Lynne Coombe, who was part of the judging panel, said: “Last year entries were down, so we decided to encourage other schemes. “Everyone who entered was given £100 to spend on decorations for their communal room. “The result has been a fantastic turn out with some really stunning decorations.”

Magna group chief executive Graham Colls, who was also one of the judges, said: “I was very proud of all the hard work our residents had put into decorating their communal rooms. “Many of the decorations were hand-made and had clearly had a lot of thought and effort put into them. “It’s inspiring to see such strong community spirit in our sheltered housing schemes and I’d like to thank everyone who took part.

“I really enjoyed visiting every single site and talking to our residents.”