Four Northamptonshire businesses have beaten off stiff competition from 150 organisations from across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire who were entered into the 2008 Countryside Alliance Awards in the East Midlands.

The businesses were nominated by their customers and among the winners was the Shop@Stanwick in High Street, which won the Best Village Shop and Post Office category.

Sub-postmaster Vernon Frost took over the business with Steve Ware and Neil Brailsford in July 2007 and since then the business has gone from strength to strength.

Mr Frost, 41, said: "We're really thrilled to have done so well and our customers are as excited as we are.

"We wanted to make the Shop@Stanwick the hub of the community and have more plans in the pipeline to expand the business over the summer.

"We'd like to thank all our customers for their support and our staff because they are 100 per cent behind us."

Family butchers FE Coales and Son in Twywell won the traditional business award for the second year in a row.

Partner Mark Coales, who is part of the fourth generation of the family to run the business, said: "We're really very pleased to have won, especially as this is an award we're entered into by our customers."

The Enterprise Award was won by Muddy Matches, an online dating and social networking website for country-minded people, which was launched at the beginning of March 2007 and now has 20,000 members. The website was the brainchild of Lucy Reeves, 29, and her sister Emma, 32, of Podington. Lucy said: "This is absolutely amazing."

The final category, called the Local Food Award, went to Elliotts Kitchen in Towcester.

Regional winners go to a ceremony at the House of Lords next month, when they will find out if they have won national awards for each category.