A Bury charity is calling on residents to back their quest to win £5,000 and the top prize in a nationwide competition. 

Bury Veterans Hub, which helps veterans with PTSD, debt, addictions, isolation, budgeting and housing, has entered the competition in the hopes of winning some extra funding.  

The charity is one of 12 finalists who won £500 of building materials to use on a project or on a building. 

Shirley Simmons, founder of Bury Veterans Hub, said: “We were thrilled to win the £500 building materials from Selco, which was a tremendous boost and has helped us to develop our community garden. 

Read more: 'Let’s drink this bar dry': Bury venue to hold party this weekend to mark closure

“We use different therapy projects to help our members focus on things they are interested in and enjoy. 

“We are developing an apiary which we hope will encourage some of our members out of isolation, which is a very common problem in veterans once they leave service. 

“If we were to win the £5,000 it would be huge for us. It would enable us to expand the services we offer to our veterans.” 

Read more: Turkish personal trainer who did lockdown online workouts based in Bury visits studio

The 12 finalists are up for a public vote to become the overall Selco Community Heroes winner and second place in the public vote will win £1,000. 

Carine Jessamine, marketing director at Selco, said: “Our Community Heroes campaign has been hugely successful. We were inundated with a record-breaking number of applications from a host of good causes with outstanding credentials, so Bury Veterans Hub has done extremely well to be shortlisted. 

Read more: 'It's time to give something back' Charity champion organises black tie ball

“They do excellent work in the community and hopefully the whole of Bury will get behind the organisation in their quest to win an amount of money which would make a huge difference to the work they do.” 

The Hub is currently creating a beehive and training some of its members as beekeepers and there are also plans to create a wildflower area and a wildlife pond. 

Voting is open and closes at midnight on February 28. 

For more information and to view other entries see here.

If you have a story tweet @BuryTimes or @Heywoodharriet_ or email Harriet.Heywood@newsquest.co.uk.