HUNTINGDON S Farmers Market has been named as the best in the East of England – and will now compete for the national title. Top foodies nominated eighteen farmers markets across the UK and the public were asked to vote for their favourite. Out of the t

HUNTINGDON'S Farmers' Market has been named as the best in the East of England - and will now compete for the national title.

Top foodies nominated eighteen farmers' markets across the UK and the public were asked to vote for their favourite.

Out of the three farmers' markets in the East of England, championed by lifelong farmer and campaigner the Countess of Cranbrook, Huntingdon received the highest number of public votes, beating Woodbridge and Wayland.

Now also competing for the national title are: Mosely in Birmingham, for the Midlands, Edinburgh for Scotland and the North, Tavistock, Devon for the South West, Deddington in Oxfordshire for the South East, and Chepstow, for Wales.

Flying the flag for Huntingdon is Countess Cranbrook, a lifelong farmer whose family has farmed in East Suffolk since 1912. Countess Cranbrook is a regional food advocate for the Campaign to Protect Rural England and president of the Suffolk branch of Action with Communities in Rural England. She is also a passionate campaigner on behalf of farmers, small food producers and local abattoirs and recently helped stop the building of a Tesco in her town of Saxmundham.

Countess Cranbrook said: "Farmers markets create and foster an interest in local food. People are anxious about food and food miles. Combining place and origin of food is what people are yearning for and is something Huntingdon Farmers' Market does extremely well. It is consciously trying to reconnect community and revive the heart of Huntingdon, a traditional market town since 1205."

Other judges include Clarissa Dickson Wright representing Edinburgh, John Burton Race supporting Tavistock, Tom Parker Bowles for Deddington, Shaun Hill championing Moseley and Mark Hix representing Chepstow.

Mark Hedges, editor of Country Life, which organises the contest, said: "Local food is attracting more interest than it has for a generation. Country Life and Strutt and Parker are delighted to sound the fanfare for farmers' markets, which are the bedrock of local food success. It came as no surprise that we received an unprecedented number of entries for an issue that is increasingly at the centre of everyone's thinking."

The overall winner of Britain's Favourite Farmers' Market will be announced in Country Life on Thursday, November 30.

INFORMATION: Huntingdon farmers' market is held every other Friday.

The next farmers' market will be held on Friday, December 1.