gheTODAY we launch the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's annual Grimewatch competition - now in its 10th trailblazing year.

The competition is the highlight of our wider campaign make East Lancashire a better place to live by encouraging people to look after their local environment.

Over the last 10 years, hundreds of schemes have been entered for the competition, from recycling initiatives to landscaping projects.

And the best of them have won prestigious Grimewatch awards.

Grimewatch is an award-winner itself, having picked up the National Premier Award for Media in the Queen Mother's Birthday Awards last year and in 1990. It also received a commendation in 1996. It has been nominated again this year.

This year's competition is again run in conjunction with Groundwork, British Aerospace and the Tidy Britain Group.

And we are joined for the first time by the Government's green watchdog, the Environment Agency.

Grimewatch is a chance for all those people who put great effort into making East Lancashire cleaner and greener to have their efforts recognised. Every entry receives publicity in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and worldwide through our pages on the Internet.

The best projects will be presented with awards at a glittering ceremony early next year.

So if you have gone green, why not get involved? It might just encourage others to follow your good example.

There are awards to suit all sorts of projects.

There are separate categories for nursery, primary and secondary schools, each with a cash prize of £100. And in addition, the best overall school entry will receive a further £100.

The community project award, sponsored by British Aerospace, carries a prize of £200. The same is up for grabs in the long-term project category - which allows schemes which have been running for several years to enter.

The judges will also select a Grimebuster and Junior Grimebuster of the Year - individuals whose green efforts make them stand out from the crowd. The categories are sponsored by Lancashire Waste Services and each winner will receive a personal prize of £100.

The business award category is open to any size of firm and covers both landscape enhancement projects and environmental management systems.

There is an award for local authority projects and a heritage award for schemes which reflect in some way the history or traditions of the local area.

Anyone interested in entering a scheme should contact our new Grimewatch co-ordinator, Lynn Schofield, for a registration form which has full details of how to complete your entry.

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