THREE Towns youth football team Tass Thistle have secured an accolade for their work in helping develop the game at grassroots level.

Thistle received the Community Award Quality Mark from the Scottish Football Association on December 5.

The award was presented to Tass Thistle Chairman, Alex Tulloch, and club founder and former committee member, Tommy McCann, at a presentation at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock.

The Community Award is given to clubs with a certain number of teams across all age groups including girls, but more importantly it shows that the club coaches have gained a certain level of Scottish FA coaching qualifications and have first aid and child protection as part of every team.