GOOD causes in Cradley could receive a cash injection thanks to its triumph in a village of the year competition.

In December, Cradley was named West of England winner in the Calor sponsored competition, losing out to the Derbyshire village of Ashover in the national final.

Parish councillors met on Tuesday, January 10, and decided the £2,250 prize money should be made open to applications from local organisations.

Details on how to apply will be published in the next edition of the Cradley Reporter newsletter.

The £400 winnings from the Herefordshire category of the competition will be split evenly between 1st Cradley Scout Group, Cradley Youth Group, Evergreen Over-60s Club and the newly-formed Cradley Sports Club.

Following the village's success, it will join other regional winners from the last nine years in a 10th anniversary Village of the Year competition.

Council chairman David Creed-Newton acknowledged the role Cradley residents had played in making this possible.

"The awards are a tribute to all the people in Cradley who've been making it a very pleasant place to be," he said. "We're not being judged on how pretty the place looks, it's about how well the village works."

Cradley has until March to prepare its entry. Under recommendation from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the council will look to strengthen the bid with further improvements to village life.

These are likely to include improvement of the existing public transport system and a system to help less well off residents better understand financial assistance available to them.