Falmouth has been named the best coastal community in the UK, snatching victory on Monday after seeing off competition from hundreds of other towns.

The town had been shortlisted in the third annual Great British High Street competition and was up against Seaview Street in Cleethorpes, and Prestatyn in Wales, which came in second and third place respectively in the coastal towns category.

Despite a concerted effort to secure online votes, Falmouth had been in second place to Cleethorpes throughout the voting period, but the town pulled out all the stops to impress the judge Alan Taylor during his visit last month. A move which obviously paid off.

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID manager, and town centre manager, Richard Gates, attended the awards ceremony in London on Monday when the announcement was made.

"This is terrific news and superb national recognition for our special town," said Mr Wilcox. "The judges remarked on how well Falmouth works together, how it manages lean resources effectively to make things happen, how involved the community are in Town Team activity, how diverse our business sector is and how innovative partnerships are supporting businesses and residents.

"It's testament to the fact that despite challenging economic conditions, working together gives a place the best possible chance to grow and prosper."

The prize is £5,000 for the local community, and the Town Team will receive expert training from Google’s digital taskforce for business and attend a meeting at Twitter UK’s London office to boost their social media presence to further benefit the town.

The Great British High Street competition is a Government-led scheme designed to celebrate the great work that is being done to revive, adapt and diversify the nation’s high streets, focusing on innovative marketing, festivals, evidence of proactive Town Teams and BIDs, volunteer community groups, regeneration and more.

Mr Wilcox and Mr Gates were awarded the trophy by High Streets Minister Andrew Percy, who said: "Falmouth deserves the very highest praise for being a category winner in this year’s Great British High Street Awards. In an incredibly tough category, Falmouth’s strong marketing and events really stood out and we’ll be sharing their excellent example to help others across the country learn from their success.”

Judge Alan Taylor, community and social responsibility manager at the Post Office, added: "Britain’s coastal high streets fought a tough battle this year so Falmouth has done extremely well to take home the crown.

“The collaboration in the town was amongst the best we’ve ever seen and, along with how they make the most of the maritime economy, they truly deserve this award.”