The winners of the annual Museums & Heritage Awards have been announced at a ceremony in London.

Among the 2009 winners were Leicestershire County Council (classic award) and Tyne & wear Museums (best use of technology).

The Bowes Museum in Durham and Historic Scotland were joint winners of the best restoration category. Bowes was recognised for its work on the conservation of the Silver Swan - a musical automaton dating from 1773 – while Historic Scotland received the award for its work on the Bell Mill project at Stanley Mills.

AV and multimedia specialist Electrosonic received the international award for its work on the Newseum in Washington DC, while RFA Desginers was handed the permanent exhibition award for its installation at the Stockwood Discovery Centre in Bedfordshire.

This year's award for an outstanding contribution by an individual was given to Phil Redmond, the creative director of the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008.

The awards were judged by a panel of industry professionals which included Sam Mullins, director of London Transport Museum; Bernard Donoghue, head of government and public affairs at VisitBritain; Diane Lees, director of V&A Museum of Childhood and Matthew Tanner, director of ssGreat Britain.