Caitlin Fairley from Renton and Laura Gallacher from Alexandria walked away with awards from the first ever Youth Alliance Awards. They were joined by Haldane teenager, Caitlin Daly.

The evening was held to recognise and celebrate the achievements of young people from across West Dunbartonshire and provided the opportunity to honour the efforts of young people aged 12 to 25 years who have given up their own time to volunteer in their community.

Councillor Kath Ryall, convener of Corporate Services, congratulated all the winners and the nominees.

She said: “We have some truly inspirational young people who have made a big difference to our community and I’m delighted these awards have been organised to recognise some of their achievements.” Caitlin Fairley, 15, walked away with the Young Carer award for her efforts with the Young Carers Service at Y Sort-it in the area.

She has been a ‘valued member’ of the organisation since March 2012 and has been involved in all aspects of the service including four respite residential and fundraising activities.

Meanwhile Laura picked up the Sport Award for her six years worth of work helping to promote sport and healthy living in the region.

Laura, 21, is a member of West Dunbartonshire Sports Youth Group and has volunteered many hours of her time to lead on various group projects including designing a Commonwealth Games activity booklet for all nurseries and applying for £30,000 of Young Start funding.

Caitlin Daly, 17, walked away with the Peer Educator Award for her efforts in helping run youth groups in the area. That has seen her deliver workshops on knife crime and Internet safety.

Nominated for the honours by teachers and youth workers, finalists were invited to the awards night at Dumbarton Football Club’s Bet Butler Stadium, with speeches from the Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson, and River City actor Paul Brannigan.