Two of the district's villages will compete to impress a panel of judges who are out to decide which is the country's best.

Cullingworth and Pool-in-Wharfedale have fought off competition from hundreds of entrants to be shortlisted in a competition "to discover the most dynamic, caring and pro-active village".

Village representatives had to submit a detailed application form.

They had to explain what activities exist for younger and older people and what community life is like for the residents.

Other sections included how businesses related to each other in the village and with residents and if there was a community website detailing the facilities the village has to offer.

A description of local landmarks and any initiatives to ensure a tidy, pretty and crime-free village was also required.

The Calor Village of the Year competition is run in conjunction with the Yorkshire Rural Community Council and is open to villages with populations of 5,000 people and fewer.

Three other villages - Bardsey cum Rigton, Shelley and Barkisland, all in West Yorkshire - are competing for the South and West Yorkshire title and the winner could go on to compete for a national prize.

Liz Balding, a member of Cullingworth Parish Council which submitted the village's application, said: "It has been a lot of hard work but it really makes you focused on what you have in your village and how you can improve it.

"Obviously, we are a living, breathing, working village but we have so much else to offer too.

"It has made everyone here think about all the things that we do in Cullingworth for the good of the village and focused the mind on all its achievements."

She added that the village had a number of community groups and had recently established a business watch to report crime.

Lorrie Clemie, who co-ordinated Pool-in-Wharfedale's entry, said: "We're dead proud; in fact, we're ecstatically proud and we think we deserve to win because everyone has worked so hard over the last couple of years."

Mrs Clemie said more than 40 organisations in the village had been involved with its application and it had been a real team effort.

"We came fourth in the regional short-list three years ago but we are hoping for better this time," she said.

She added that, since the last competition, a skate park, playgrounds and a disabled walkway had been constructed.

The Village of the Year co-ordinator for the Yorkshire Rural Community Council, Doreen Berriman, said the aim was not just to assess visual beauty but also to recognise efforts that had been made to unite the community and to develop strong ties between all the people who live there.

She said the applications had given the organisers a "snapshot" of what life is like in those communities.

"Now people in the villages have two hours and a great opportunity to tell the judges just how wonderful their village is," she said.

"The judges will tour the village on foot or by car and we encourage the villages to have representatives to show them how good they are."

Three judges will visit the shortlisted villages this month and the results will be announced in July. The winner will go on to compete for the title of Calor Village of the North of England.

The winner of that will compete for the national prize in December.