DO you run a business between one and three years old that you believe is full of potential?

If so, you could be the ideal candidate for Local Business Accelerators, a competition offering the brightest fledgling enterprises free advertising and expert advice from a panel of business mentors.

As you can read about elsewhere in today's paper, The Sentinel has signed up to the Newspaper Society-led initiative, which aims to provide a £15 million shot in the arm for our local businesses.

Hopefully, it will complement our own well-established Business Awards, which have been showcasing the best and brightest the region has to offer for the past 18 years.

Local Business Accelerators has won the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron, who reckons the eventual winners "are the very businesses and entrepreneurs that will help to lead Britain's recovery".

He's right – small firms have a vital role to play in the region's (and the country's) economy, so if you think you fit the criteria, what are you waiting for? You can find out more at the website www.accelerateme.co.uk