A NORTH Hampshire village is in the running to win another top accolade for being one of the nicest places to live in the UK.

The picturesque village of Sherfield-on-Loddon has been invited to take part in the Calor Village of the Year 10th Anniversary Competition, an honour only bestowed on regional and national finalists during the past nine years

Sherfield-on-Loddon claimed the award for the South and South East England in 2004, after beating villages from Kent, West Sussex, East Sussex and Surrey, Dorset and Wiltshire.

Last Wednesday, competition judges returned to the area for more than two hours for a guided tour, where they paid particular attention to how the categories of community, older people, young people, business environment and IT are being catered for in Sherfield-on-Loddon.

During their stay, they met with representatives from a range of groups, clubs and organisations at Sherfield-on-Loddon Village Hall and visited Longbridge Mill and the River Loddon, St Leonard's Church, Breach Lane Baptist Chapel, the Roman Catholic Centre and the Village Green.

Speaking afterwards, Bruce Batting, chairman of Sherfield-on-Loddon parish council, said: "We're very pleased with how the visit went. I think the judges were impressed and I think we have a good chance of success.

"It was a great community effort. There wasn't just one or two people helping out on the day - everyone got involved and there was a great amount of support."

If the village is successful in the current regional round for the South of England, it will go forward to the national final in July to compete for a prize of £20,000.

First published: Monday, April 24, 2006