COMMUNITY heroes providing vital education to youngsters in the Southampton region could get a special award.

Schools, colleges, government organisations giving an educational service on a non-professional basis, and even charitable organisations who send out an educational message, are eligible for the £7,000 cash boost.

Flybe Local Heroes, backed by the Daily Echo, has been launched in the region for the first time and aims to find true community heroes to reap the rewards.

The Southampton-based carrier has offered the funding made up of £3,000 in cash and £4,000 to be used on the Flybe service network to the winner.

Institutions can nominate themselves or, if you know a true education hero, you can put your choice to the judges, pictured top right, who are football legend Matt Le Tissier, Flybe head of marketing Ian Taylor and Daily Echo editor Ian Murray.

For the education category, the award is not supposed to be additional funding for a professional company but in certain circumstances it may support a project that a professional company in this field is undertaking.

The nominations can include a variety of projects ranging from environmental and conservation to a youth project involving education as a means of reducing street crime.

But it is not just education heroes who will be rewarded, there are two other categories; Sport in the Community and Charity in the Community..

For details of how to qualify for each of the categories go to dailyecho.co.uk/flybe.