BUSINESSES in Porlock and Porlock Weir are hoping to encourage shoppers to keep it local with the launch of the villages' first loyalty card tomorrow (Saturday).

People using participating local shops will be given a sticker for every separate purchase they make of £2.50 or more.

It will take ten stickers to complete a card and, once filled up, the card will then be entered into a monthly prize draw for a £20 and a £5 shopping voucher.

Roger Hall, of the Porlock Futures Group, said: "All the shops in Porlock Weir and the majority in Porlock High Street have signed up to the scheme.

"The aim is to encourage more people to shop in their local shops in Porlock Weir and Porlock.

"This will boost trade and help to ensure that the shops that make the area such a pleasant place in which to live, prosper and continue to make their contribution to village life."

Businesses taking part in the scheme will display a loyalty card sticker in their windows, while completed cards can be dropped off at Whortleberry Tearooms, Clive Downs Butchers or Millers at the Anchor.

Cllr Karen Mills, Porlock district councillor and West Somerset Council's lead member for economic regeneration and tourism, said she hoped the scheme would encourage residents to use their local shops.

"We are very pleased that the traders of Porlock and Porlock Weir have really got behind this initiative and we hope the locals will enjoy using the scheme with the incentive of possibility winning a voucher at the end of each month," she said.

"Our local shops receive a welcome boost from visitors to Exmoor in the summer months, but that needs to be backed up with regular use from the local residents over the winter.

"We have a great selection of shops, food and drink establishments in Porlock and the Weir and with the late night shopping events planned on December 12 and 13, we hope people will show their support."