Community heroes and brilliant businesses from our area will be celebrated as part of a new set of awards launched by The Times.

The Times Awards 2021 is being rolled out with the aim of celebrating those who make our community tick, from our shops and pubs, to the volunteers who give so much while asking for so little.

We also want to highlight and applaud the moments that made you smile, laugh or swell with pride at what our fantastic part of the world is capable of.

To kick things off, we are asking who you think should be shortlisted in each of our eight categories, using the form below.

We will then take those nominations to create a shortlist, and put the names out to a public vote.

Those with the most votes will be given a prize and a moment in the spotlight in the Dereham Times and the Fakenham and Wells Times at the end of the year.

The awards will have eight categories:

  • Business owner of the year
  • Pub landlord of the year
  • Teacher of the year
  • Community hero
  • Young person of the year
  • Moment of the year
  • Fresh idea of the year (a new event or initiative)
  • Uniformed hero of the year

Tom Chapman, The Times' chief reporter, said the awards were a chance to celebrate everything great about the area, and to look back on an eventful year.

He said: "We want to celebrate the people who make Dereham, Fakenham, Wells and beyond a wonderful place to live and work in.

"There are so many businesses, teachers, police officers, nurses and community heroes who deserve recognition for what they do in promoting our area or helping its residents in many ways.

"So if you know someone who deserves to be nominated for The Times Awards 2021, please put them forward in one of our eight categories to make the shortlist.

"It could be a pub landlord who organises fundraising events, a business that goes an extra mile for customers, a teacher who inspires his pupils, or a police officer or nurse who has helped transform someone's life."

Fill in the embedded form above to share your nominations. If you don't have a name for any of the categories, don't worry!