Entries are needed to this year’s Suffolk Village of the Year competition which has had its deadline extended.

Communities across the county can put their village forward if it has an electorate of between 501-3,000 people.

The original deadline of May 22 has been pushed back to June 5 to allow more time for entries.

The awards are organised by Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) and are sponsored by the EADT, Suffolk Magazine, BBC Radio Suffolk, UK Power Networks and Adnams.

Last year 15 villages entered and Shona Bendix, chief executive of SALC, said she was expecting a “late surge” of entries.

“It’s a really good opportunity for people to show what’s going on in their village, it inspires people and it is extremely exciting to win the award,” she said.

“It’s a great shame not to enter, it’s a really positive thing to do as we have so much to celebrate in our villages.”

District councils, except Waveney, have sent out details to parish councils on how to submit bids. Resident in Waveney have to apply directly through SALC.

Ms Bendix added: “A really important message is that it’s not just about parish councils, we send the information to them but anyone in the community can enter the award on behalf of the community if the parish council is not taking it forward.

“It is an award for the village as a whole; it could be a community council or a village hall committee which submits a bid.”

Last year’s winner was Whatfield, near Hadleigh, with judges praising its “whole community” for their involvement in the village.

The district winners will be announced on July 13 before the villages are eventually whittled down to a county round and then a final round to be judged in August.

There are also two open space awards running alongside the village prize.

More information on the awards can be found at SALC’s website: www.salc.onesuffolk.net or call 01473 833713.