Brightlingsea gift shop Little Boat Gifts has been shortlisted for a small business award.

Little Boat Gifts, run by Olivia and Pete Reilly, is one of eight businesses nationwide who’ve made it into the High Street Hero category of the Small Awards, run by Small Business Britain.

The nomination is the latest recognition for the New Street shop, which previously made the final six of ‘The Greats’ for giftshops, ‘The Retas’ for greeting cards and Small Business Saturday UK’s #SmallBiz100.

The citation from Small Awards states: “Little Boat Gifts isn’t just a little shop, it’s part of the community, which consistently invest both time and resources into local projects. As a business, they actively support many local charities and events through advertising, prizes, and offering a free box office service.”

The awards are judged by small business experts , entrepreneurs and investors and the results will be announced on May 16