KIRKBY Lonsdale is currently bottom of the pile in the public votes section of a national competition to find Britain's best high street.

Half way through the public voting period, a rankings release by the Great British High Street Competition has revealed that in the village category, Kirkby Lonsdale is lying in third place behind Pateley Bridge and Langport in Somerset.

With the public vote making up 50 per cent of final decision, the team behind the Kirkby Lonsdale entry is urging local people to get behind its bid for glory.

High Streets Minister Andrew Percy said: “Over 150,000 votes have been cast in the competition so far, proving that people are passionate about their high streets up and down the country.

“Kirkby Lonsdale did fantastically well to make it into the final three, but now every vote counts and they need an extra push to get them title of Britain’s best high street.”

The Great British High Street Competition 2016 celebrates the great work that is being done to revive, adapt and diversify the nation’s high streets. It is one of a number of initiatives to help champion high streets as the cornerstones of the community.

This year’s competition saw a record 900 entries across all 14 categories, including the new categories for individuals and shops.

The 27 finalists in the nine categories for places were announced last month.

Winners in each category will get a share of a prize pot worth £100,000 and expert training from Google’s digital taskforce for shops, bars and restaurants, as well as a trip to Twitter UK’s London office to boost their social media skills.

Alongside the public’s votes shortlisted village high streets have also been inspected by judges from Marks & Spencer, an industry leader in retail. The judges have a 50 per cent say in who wins the competition.

Between now and November 18 people can cast their vote for free via thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk and follow @TheGBHighSt on Twitter.