Donald and Doreen Clinton-Smith are to receive the Citizenship Cup – an accolade which has only been handed out only nine times in 53 years – during a ceremony at the annual meeting of Harborough District Council on Wednesday.

The cup, last awarded to Harborough Band stalwart Mark Stamp in 2006, was donated anonymously in 1955 to mark the diamond jubilee of what was then Market Harborough Urban District Council.

It was to be awarded from time to time "in recogniton of outstanding achievement, enhancing the reputation of or reflecting credit on Market Harborough and for distinguished service in the interests of the town."

Active members of Harborough Methodist Church, in the 1950s Mr and Mrs Clinton-Smith formed the Shell Group – a youth club linked to the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs – which ran in the town twice-weekly.

They recruited and trained a group of accredited youth leaders and organised a host of activities for young people, including weekends away.

They were instrumental in helping develop a purpose-built youth centre at the church, completed in 1967, and more recently in recruiting a paid youth worker to help co-ordinate activities.

They have supported Fairtrade for many years, running Traidcraft stalls at town events and playing a key part in the Fairtrade Town Steering Group, which successfully obtained Fairtrade town status for Harborough in 2006.

In 2005, after becoming aware of the financial issues facing some people in Harborough, Mr Clinton-Smith secured the backing of the town's Churches Together group to set up the Clockwise Credit Union, which provides sensible loans at reasonable interest levels and promotes the benefits of regular saving.

They also both help organise a weekly coffee shop at the Methodist Youth Centre on Saturday and Tuesday mornings.

Mr and Mrs Clinton-Smith stressed they would be receiving the award on behalf of everyone who has helped and supported them over the years.

"We feel it is a real honour but not for us personally," added Mr Clinton-Smith.

"When we were told we just sat and thought 'this is wonderful', because it is a chance for us to talk about the sort of work which has been going on in the town.

"If we thought about all the people who had helped and supported the work it would be a tremendous list. So really this is a question of honouring all those people, the work they have been doing and the work that, hopefully, they will continue to do."

Mrs Clinton-Smith added: "We were absolutely astounded. You just do the work.