Retailers from across Britain are celebrating being named the Best Rural Retailers in their regions in the Countryside Alliance's third annual competition.

Each of the 12 British regions now has a winner in each of four categories, and their winners now head to a national final which will be held at the House of Lords in February 2008.

The competition was devised by the Countryside Alliance as a way of celebrating communities, skills and produce through the retailers who work so hard to keep rural life ticking.

The 2007 competition received over 2500 nominations, all passionately in support of our valued retailers.

The national judging panel, led by Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart, will now consider the candidates ahead of the Lords reception, attended by DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn.

Receptions were also held at The Senedd in Cardiff and at Holyrood in Edinburgh to celebrate the Welsh and Scottish winners.

The categories are:

• Best local food retailer
• Best village shop/Post Office
• Best diversification
• Best traditional business

Competition director Jill Grieve, praised the regional winners for their contribution to rural life: "Our regional winners are all outstanding in their various lines of business.

"From farm shops to saddleries, Post Offices to butchers, the diversity of rural life and enterprise is represented here and we are very proud to honour these retailers - without them, life in the countryside would be all the poorer.

"As farming continues to struggle and an axe hangs over our Post Office network, the Countryside Alliance is determined to champion all that is best about rural life - its people, its produce, its traditions and its diversity.

"I am very much looking forward to meeting all of our regional winners at Parliament, celebrating their success and taking rural issues right to the heart of Westminster."

The judging panel consists of:

• Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance
• Zac Goldsmith of the Ecologist
• Stuart Burgess, the government's Rural Advocate and chairman of the Commission for Rural Communities
• Alexia Robinson, director of British Food Fortnight
• Tim Relf, Farmlife editor of Farmers Weekly

A recent poll of more than 5000 shoppers by market research firm Nielsen reveals a shift in consumer attitude to imported foods. The number of shoppers actively looking to buy local foods has increased by 9% in the past six months.

Consumers demand more local food - take part in our forum Shoppers buying more local food - BBC