A HADLEY woman has been selected as a finalist in a national competition to find women who have the drive to achieve the extraordinary.

Jill Angell is one of 24 women who have reached the final stage of the Women Who Make Things Happen award, which is being run by Croft Original and Good Housekeeping magazine.

The competition is being run to try and find women with the drive to realise their goals.

Jill moved to the village six years ago and immediately started trying to raise community spirit.

She started a community newsletter, which is delivered by residents and is now in its 20th issue.

Time capsule

She also arranged to bury the largest time capsule in the county to mark the Millennium, which contained stories, photographs and village memorabilia .

A commemorative mug with the names of all 38 houses in the village on it, and a map of the village were also produced.

A copy of the map was given to the emergency services, who often had difficulty in locating some addresses in the village.

As well as the Millennium preparations, Jill also arranged for Hadley signposts to be put up, produced a guide book to the area and planted oak trees in the village.

"Neighbours say 'nothing would happen around here if it wasn't for you'," she said.

"When I moved to Hadley there were only 38 houses, no pub, shop, post office or even a bus stop, and certainly no community activities involving Hadley residents."

The awards are being handed out in a ceremony in September, and are currently being judged by a panel of experts representing Good Housekeeping, Croft Original, and Barbara Roche, Minister for Women and City.

If Jill wins, she will receive £5,000 plus a year's supply of pale cream sherry courtesy of Croft Original.

Three regional runners up will receive £1,000 and a case of sherry.