THE village of Broughton-in-Furness is to represent Cumbria in a national competition and could see the community scoop a top prize of £6,000.

The village, along with Alston in the north-east of the county, has been chosen to take part in the Calor village of the year competition against other rural communities in England and Wales.

The village was selected by Voluntary Action Cumbria after taking part in a celebration of Cumbrian village life event, which was supported by more than 30 rural communities.

Broughton, chosen for its outstanding community endeavours including the renovation of the Victory Hall, development of a community transport project and initiatives to support businesses during the foot-and- mouth epidemic, will compete in the Northern Region of the competition in October.

If successful, it will join a shortlist of six and will compete for the first prize of £6,000, to be spent on projects within the community.

Vice-chairman of the Victory Hall committee Richard Weeks put forward the application for the competition with the backing of the parish council and the chamber of trade.

He said: "It depends entirely on what the judges are looking for but if they are looking for a village that is on the move then Broughton should qualify very well.

"I don't know what we will spend the money on if we do win as there are so many projects going on in the village that we can choose from."

Gail Knopfel, of Voluntary Action Cumbria, said: "We were very impressed with what Broughton has done in the last year particularly during the time of foot-and-mouth and we believe the village is in with a good chance of winning in the national competition."

The overall winner will be announced on December 10, at the Millennium Hotel, in London.

The awards will be presented by the Princess Royal.