VILLAGES in Bath and North East Somerset are being offered the chance to get put on the map with a competition being held to uncover the finest village in England and Wales.

The Calor Gas Village of the Year is asking villages, no matter how small, to come forward and represent the south west in a competition that is offering a top prize of £6,000 to spend on the local environment.

Organisers behind the competition said that they are looking not so much for scenic beauty but villages that excel in the areas of environment, young people, community life, business, and older people.

A spokesperson said: "Size and scenic beauty aren't important. What matters is care and achievement and all villages are welcome. It's a great way of bringing the community together.

"Our judges are looking for well-balanced, enterprising, caring villages communities that are making the most of local opportunities, wherever they are and however large or small the village."

The competition works by a village winning a place to represent their county in regional finals, in this case South West and Western England, of whom the winner heads off to the national finals, to battle it out against six other regions.

Judges will visit contestants for the county finalists during the summer. Entries for what organisers are calling the Avonside district have to be in by May 31.

The county competition is being organised by the Avonside branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England.

Louise Grant, branch chairman, urged as many villages in the area to enter as possible.

She said: "We enjoy a good level of support but there are a number of villages that have never taken part or have not competed for a number of years.

"It would be encouraging if we could attract some new faces and push our normal entry of around 30 villages up to 40 or more."

For more information about the competition, including how to enter, visit www.villageoftheyear.org or telephone (01454) 228519.