It was once a tip where rubbish was piled nearly 12 feet high -- but now the Sun Lane nature reserve has won recognition as an environmental success.

The reserve has won the community group category of the Npower Conserva-tion Award for 2004. The award, which is in recognition of exceptional support for wildlife conservation in Yorkshire, also carries a prize of £250.

It is a major achievement for the reserve, which was set up by the Burley Village Wild-life Group less than two years ago. A group of volunteers have transformed the 12-acre site since work began in January 2003.

The patch of land had been used as a tip since the early 1900s until 1974. But it was then declared a wildlife area.

In recent years, Bradford Council was faced with the huge task of clearing up the site after it was discovered that pollution was leeching out from the buried mounds of rubbish. A massive and expensive environmental clean up was undertaken -- at a cost of more than £1m.

But now the site has become a haven for wildlife -- with 25 species of butterflies, more than 80 species of birds and almost 400 different types of plants.

The transformation has been made possible by the support of local people who have given up their time to create a wildlife sanctuary. Wildlife Group Chairman Peter Riley said the involvement of local people was intrinsic to the award.

"It is not good enough to have a good na-ture reserve," he said. "It really is also about how you get the community involved."

He said they had been given a lot of help and advice by one resident in particular Freda Draper who had lived in Burley-in-Wharfedale for about 80 years.

Mr Riley said attempts to create a nature reserve had financial support and help from a number of local bodies including Bradford Council, Burley Community Council, Shipley Community Chest and Ilkley Parish Council, as well as the Wharfedale Natural-ists. And he said volunteers made the project possible with their help and support.

"We have people of all kinds helping us, mostly from the village - but not exclusively. I think we have got a good community involvement."