The winners of the Christmas commercial window display have been announced.

The competition which awards prizes for the best dressed commercial Christmas window was arranged by The Dorset Echo, Dorchester Chamber for Business, Dorchester Bid, Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce and Weymouth Bid.

The aim of the competition was for shops to attract customers through their door, which would increase footfall and encourage spend, with the winners of each category receiving a £100 prize.

The competitors had to upload a photo of their window for judging, which was then put before a panel of judges specific to each town’s entries, who judged each category independently to determine the winners.

The winners of the competition are Great Western Camping in Dorchester and The Crow’s Nest in the Square in Weymouth.

Great Western Camping is a specialist outdoor retailer, and has been established in Dorchester since 1986.

Speaking of their win, manager Mark Evans at Great Western Camping said: “We are really, really pleased with this.

“It’s the first time we won, and we are really chuffed.

“My wife Kirsty Evans has to take all the credit, she did the display and was the reason we won.

“It’s great news and we are really pleased.”

Speaking of their success, Steve Farnham, President of Dorchester Chamber for Business said: “It was great to see the effort made by so many of our local shops in dressing their windows for Christmas.

“The standard of entries was high and it was a difficult decision for the judges, but we felt that the window at Great Western Camping was the best this year.

“Kirsty and Mark made a great effort with their window each year and I am delighted that the prize has gone to one of our long established independent retailers, who all make Dorchester the unique and vibrant place that it is.”

The winners of the Weymouth Competition, The Crow’s Nest, were unsure that their own entry had got through.

Director Barry Whettingsteel said: “We didn’t even think our entry got through, the website crashed when we uploaded the photo.

“We were shocked when we received the phone call to say we had won.

“We are absolutely delighted that we have won, and will put half the winnings into our own little competition that we are running, which will see the winners get a £50 dinning voucher to eat here.”

Andrew Knowles, President of the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce said: “I’d like to congratulate all businesses that took part.

“It’s great to have a good number of entries, and it was hard to choose between them.”

“It was a great chance to celebrate our local businesses, and we look forward to more opportunities to celebrate with local firms as we head into our 100th year.”