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Alford Triumphs in Village Contest

The village of Alford has been revealed as the winner of the 2007 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year competition.

A total of three communities were shortlisted for judging visits in the competition, which is organised by Community Lincs. The village of Long Bennington has taken the runner's up spot.

The Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year competition is sponsored by Calor - the UK's leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), with additional support provided by the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils. Entrants were judged on a total of four categories covering Community, Business, Environment and Communications.

A prize of £ 350 will be awarded to Alford as the overall winner with £ 150 for Long Bennington as the runner up. In addition, as the 2007 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year, Alford has the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent Lincolnshire in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year® for England competition 2007/8. This will give them the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share of a prize fund totalling more than £36,000.

Competition organiser, Teresa Palmer, commented: "We wish Alford the best of luck in the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition. They are an outstanding community and did exceptionally well in the county competition. We are sure that this success can be replicated at national level."

For further information regarding the Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year competition please contact Teresa Palmer at bkv@cclincs.com , telephone 01529 302466. A formal presentation event will take place on November 7 at Washingborough Community Centre.

For general information about Calor Village of the Year® visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org.

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Further press information available from: Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, tel: 0161 817 4221, email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Calor Village of the Year®

Calor, the leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to those living and working in the countryside, has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales for 20 years through its Rural Sponsorship programme, which includes the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, now in its eleventh year, was founded and developed by Calor, and is organised and funded by the company on an annual basis.

Please note that Calor Village of the Year® is a registered trademark and should be referred to in full in all circumstances.

Entry to the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition is through the existing county competition network. Every year, Calor sponsors the majority of the county village competitions – which this year total more than 40 – each of which is invited to nominate one village to take part in the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The national Calor Village of the Year® judges look for well-balanced, pro-active, caring communities which, irrespective of size, have made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all residents.

The prize money for the 2007 national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition alone stands at over £36,000. First prize is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are five category prizes of £500 within each region (covering Business, Environment, Care for Older People, Care for Young People and Information Communications Technology), and a prize of £750 for the winner of the Building Community Life category in each of the five regions. The five regional winners of the Information Communication Technology category are judged to find an overall winner, the award for which is £1,000. There is also, thanks to support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a prize of £2,000 for an overall Building Community Life winner, which is selected from the five regional winners.

For general information on the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition:
email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For all media enquiries relating the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Emma Flinn:
email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk or tel: 0161 817 4221

For all general enquiries relating to the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Brian Challis: email: b.challis@ntlworld.com or tel: 01962 629768

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