A SHOP owner who fulfilled a lifetime ambition when she bought a store in the village of her dreams last year has been nominated for a business award.

The Orford General Store is one of four Suffolk businesses to reach the regional finals in the Countryside Alliance’s annual awards.

Owner Penny Teale, nominated in the village shop category, said: “It is really kind and nice of the villager to vote for us, it recognises a lot of hard work.”

Miss Teal said that Orford stole her heart as a teenager and when the shop came up for sale she turned her back on a successful career with a well-known retailer to move into the village.

“It is proving successful, year one is ahead of my expectations,” she said. “It is about having the right range, marketing it properly and knowing how to deal with the suppliers.

“Our fruit and vegetables are bought daily, it is good quality and we get it at a good price which allows us to compete with the supermarkets.

The Countryside Alliance Awards celebrate the characters, skills, traditions and enterprise of the countryside through who work there.

Suffolk Food Hall in Wherstead is in the running for the local food award, while Marybelle Dairy in Walpole and Valley Farm Equestrian Leisure in Wickham Market are both finalists in the enterprise category.

The regional winners will be announced in January, with the national final in March.