A BOLTON community greengrocer is flying the flag for the town as it bids to win a prestigious national award.

A Small Good Thing in Church Road, Smithills, has been shortlisted in the ‘best shop or market’ category at BBC Radio Four’s annual Food and Farming Awards.

The shop, which was opened by friends Lisa Forrest and Emily Cooke in 2017, has made it into the final three after judges selected it from around 300 nominees.

The low-waste, organic green grocer prides itself on offering fruit, vegetables, dried goods and cleaning products without plastic packaging.

Ms Forrest said: “We were shocked when we found out we had been shortlisted. There was quite a bit of jumping around and screaming.

“We knew our customers had nominated us, but we did not think we would make the final three.

“This is a nice affirmation that we are doing the right thing.”

At the time it opened, the shop was one of only a handful of zero-waste shops in Greater Manchester.

As awareness of the effects of climate change continues to grow, others have opened up around the region.

Much of this has been attributed to BBC series Blue Planet , which revealed the damaging effects of plastic pollution on the environment.

Meanwhile, A Small Good Thing has continued to go from strength to strength and is proving a huge hit with locals.

“Our customer base is growing all the time,” said Ms Forrest.

“More people living nearby are finding out about us and coming in, which is something we have always been keen on.”

“The zero-waste movement is gaining huge momentum; people are waking up to the challenges that face us in terms of climate change and plastic pollution.

“They want to know the provenance of their food and are kicking back against the facelessness of supermarkets.”

A Small Good Thing will go up against Liverpool-based Squash and Levenshulme Market at the ceremony at City Hall in Bristol on June 12.