A community store and cafe has been shortlisted for the award for Best Village Shop and post office in the South East.

Bledington Community Shop and Café, between Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold, has made the final of the Countryside Alliance awards dubbed 'the Rural Oscars'.

The annual awards celebrate British food and farming, enterprise and heritage through small hard-working businesses.

The shop - which is six miles from Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm Shop and two miles from Daylesford - offers grocery essentials including fresh local hand made bread, local milk, tins, frozen goods, local vegetables plus newspapers, stamps, wines and spirits.

The cafe sells coffee and pastries, hot and cold drinks to villagers, visitors, walkers and cyclists.

The shop and café is managed by full-time manager Sarah Newton, her assistant Maura Knight and supported by a team of 40-plus volunteers.

It is the second year Bledington has been nominated for Best Village Shop/Post Office and last year, it won Best Village Shop in the South West. 

The Countryside Alliance said judges will not just be looking for evidence of great produce, customer service and innovation, but stories of how businesses serve their communities. 

Ms Newton said: "All of us at Bledington Community Shop are very proud of all the hard work the team of volunteers have put in to continue our great success and also supporting our local community. 

"We are asking everyone to vote for us, which is really easy by going onto the Countryside Alliance website clicking onto the Rural Oscars section and voting for Bledington Shop."

Voting will close on Monday, April 1 at midnight.