A "secret army" has been briefed and is ready to swing into action across Worcestershire.

Judges for this year's Calor-sponsored Worcestershire Best Kept Village competition, organised by the Council for the Protection of Rural England and the Worcestershire Federation of Women's Institutes, have their orders and will soon be visiting, unannounced, the villages competing for honours.

Rosemary Roberts, organiser on behalf of CPRE, said: "We have 10 teams of two judges, a representative each from CPRE and the WI.

"They are all volunteers and we are very grateful for the time and trouble they put in. Judging is a very demanding and responsible job and to a large extent the success of the competition hinges upon the credibility and fairness of the judging process."

She added: "We are always looking for new judges to supplement the ranks and this year there will be four or five people going round as observers, seeing how the job is done and ready to play a role in the future."

Final judging will take place in July and the results will be announced in August. Villages will be competing in three categories - populations less than 300, 301 to 700 and 701 to 2000. CPRE will select a village to represent Worcestershire in the Calor Village of the Year.

Entries in the small village class include Aldington, Little Comberton, Overbury, Rous Lench and Radford; Pebworth is in the medium class, and Badsey, Cookhill, Eckington, Fladbury, and Norton and Lenchwick in the large class.