Kingston’s young bookworms can be in with a chance to win over £100 of book vouchers for them and their school.

Parents, guardians, teachers, families and friends are being asked to nominate children under 11 who have used reading to positively benefit others.

The competition is being run by Eden Walk as part of the Young Readers Programme, a partnership between British Land and the National Literacy Trust that aims to encourage children to read for enjoyment in their spare time.

The winner will receive £100 of book tokens for their school, £50 of vouchers for themselves, plus a copy of David Solomons’ My Brother is a Superhero – winner of Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016.

Ailsa Fraser, centre manager at Eden Walk, said: “Supporting the local community is something we’re passionate about. The Young Readers Programme is a wonderful initiative that has a real, positive impact on encouraging local schoolchildren to read for enjoyment outside of the classroom.

“We thoroughly enjoyed hosting the storytelling event this year and we’re excited about launching the Reading Heroes competition. I’m sure we’ll see some very worthy nominations.”

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said: “We know that reading for pleasure is one of the most effective ways to help children reach their full potential.

“Our research shows that children who enjoy reading every day outside school are five times more likely to read above the expected level for their age than those who don’t.

“With the support of British Land and its shopping centres and retailers across the UK, our Young Readers Programme has helped more than 19,000 children choose books to enjoy and keep. For many, these were the first books they had ever owned.

“Literacy underpins the long-term wellbeing and prosperity of every community, so encouraging children to read for enjoyment is an important step towards boosting literacy levels in Kingston.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing the programme to Eden Walk once again as well as supporting the search for Kingston’s inspirational young Reading Hero.”