Northumberland County Council are helping local businesses with a prize giveaway.

The NCC are trying to inspire shoppers to buy locally leading up to Christmas with a campaign called '12 days of Shopping local' which gives shoppers a chance of a prize from independent retailers.

The campaign started on Saturday 4 December and will run till Saturday 18 December.

A NNC spokesperson said: "Over the next few weeks followers of the campaign’s social media pages and website will be able to open the door on a different prize draw from a range of independent retailers.

"They will then be encouraged to sign up to the campaign to be in with a chance of winning one of the fantastic prizes."

Businesses across the county are supporting the Christmas Advent giveaway and prizes include vouchers for hardware store McGees in Prudhoe as well as special Christmas packs from Caribe Coffee Co, in Morpeth.

Additionally, there are toys up for grabs from Mr Wolf toyshop in Hexham, as well as vouchers from Urban Pooch, at Amble Marina which sells all the latest doggy trends and accessories.

One of the participants, Elle Carcamo, co founder of Caribe Coffee Co, said: “Christmas is a really important time for local retailers, especially after the challenging years we have all had.

“We all work so hard to offer our customers something different at this time of year and would urge everyone to discover what is on their doorstep and support local.

“We are delighted to be part of the Shop Local, Shop Northumberland campaign and hope that it helps to shine a light on the fantastic businesses with have in the county.”

Gary Wilson from ThinkSmall/Hexham Business Group adds: "The 12 days of shopping local is a fantastic initiative which will highlight some hidden gems that people might not have already discovered and will increase awareness for the locals businesses that have served Northumberland.

"It’s been shown that shopping local will keep an average of an extra 23% of money within your local economy which stimulates growth and creates and secures local jobs."

The winners will be contacted before Christmas. To find out more or to enter the competitions go to www.discoverourland.co.uk/shopxmas