On Monday she will dress as an elf and deliver Christmas books to the children in her neighbourhood.

And for the past 20 years she’s been at the helm of her community gardening club.

Barbara Aston is this week’s Argus Local Hero for her selfless dedication and commitment to her local area.

From keeping Brighton’s Bristol Street and neighbouring roads as beautiful as possible with glistening gardens, to organising coffee mornings, bring-and-buy sales and street parties, brilliant Barbara is the stalwart of her community.

Garden club She has been living in Bristol Street for 22 years and founded the Kemp Town Garden Club and Community Group, which this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The club is formed of 151 homes over the three roads of Bennett Road, Princes Terrace and Bristol Street, all of which make up Kemp Town’s ‘garden quarter’.

In recent years, the club’s hanging baskets and top-notch gardens have received accolades from Brighton and Hove in Bloom, while this month the locals met for mulled wine and a good get-together.

Next year, another street party is on the cards. Brighton and Hove City councillor Gill Mitchell said that without Barbara, “nobody else would bother”.

Asked what inspired her to become so community-minded, Barbara said: “I just think it’s lovely when people get to know each other.

“There was a statistic in the paper the other day that said about 61% of the population don’t know the names of their neighbours, which is a shame.

“I think people should not only get to know their neighbours names, but get together for all sorts of events and have the feeling of being there for each other.

“It’s like a little village where we live.”

However, Barbara said that what she does for the community is not about receiving recognition or praise.

In fact, she admits articles like these get her a “little embarrassed”.

She said: “It is a bit awkward and I feel a little embarrassed because I don’t do it for that.

“It’s just nice to get people together. When I go out I have to go up and down either Bennett Road or Princes Terrace, so you always bump into someone and have the chance to have a chat.

“You don’t need a neighbourhood watch scheme when you have set-ups like ours.”

Hundreds of heroes go almost unnoticed in our local communities.

But The Argus is determined to give them the recognition they thoroughly deserve.

We have teamed up with housing repair and maintenance company Mears for our weekly Local Hero Awards.

We are inviting readers to nominate their candidates and tell us why they have put them forward for the award.

Contact Ben Leo on 01273 544682 or email ben.leo@theargus.co.uk