Swanton Morley has been named top village in the East of England in a competition to find the country's best, it has been announced today. The village will now go through to the national finals, which will see it pitted against four other villages in England, one from each region and potentially win �7,000 prize money.

Swanton Morley has been named top village in the East of England in a competition to find the country's best, it was announced yesterday.

The village will now go through to the national finals, which will see it pitted against four other villages in England, one from each region and potentially win �7,000 prize money.

On top of winning the regional prize in the Calor Village of the Year, the village also won the Community Regional Category Award and prize money totalling �2,000. The national title will be announced on Tuesday, November 24.

Swanton Morley was put through to the regional final after winning the best village of its size, up to 2,500 in population, in the EDP Pride in Norfolk Awards.

Swanton on Morley was up against six other villages. Its success follows a recent judging visit during which judges were shown just what Swanton Morley has to offer, with the community being showcased across four key areas: community - a better place to live, business - a better place to work, sustainability - a better future, and communications - being in contact.

It will now be up against Newton le Willows, Yorkshire (winner for North England); Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire (winner for South England); Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire (winner for West England); and Bonsall, Derbyshire (winner for Central England) for the title of Calor Village of the Year for England.

The national category award for Community is being contested by Crosthwaite, Cumbria; Sedlescombe, East Sussex; Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire and Belchford, Lincolnshire along with Swanton Morley.

Calor Village of the Year manager Holly Sims said: 'Congratulations to Swanton Morley - our East England winner. Winning a regional title in this competition is a fantastic achievement and villagers should be very proud.

'I'm sure the community will be on tenterhooks over the next few weeks before the national winners are revealed. We very much look forward to hearing the outcome and wish Swanton Morley the best of luck.'

Details of the national winners will be revealed on 24 November.

The full regional results for East England are as follows -

Overall winner Swanton Morley, Norfolk

Community category winner Swanton Morley, Norfolk

Business category winner Great Bardfield, Essex

Sustainability category winner Potten End, Hertfordshire

Communications category winner Great Bardfield, Essex

First prize in the Calor Village of the Year for England 2009/10 competition is �7,000 with �2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are four national category prizes of �500.

To find out more about Calor Village of the Year, including full details of participating villages, please visit the competition website at www.calorvillageoftheyear.org