BUSINESSES in the two counties producing food products using cereals have just over one week left to try and bag a slice of £300,000.

The money is on offer from the Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) in the form of Enterprise Awards.

The awards, which can be from £5,000 to £50,000, are awarded each year to projects the authority feels best promote the use of home-grown cereals.

Last year, Worcester company Quality Brands was awarded a grant to assist in the development of ice cream cakes.

The company, which wholesales ice creams and desserts, struck on the idea of making ice cream cakes with cartoon characters on them, to appeal to the younger market.

The project involves forming partnerships with the organisations that own the licences for cartoon characters such as Tom & Jerry.

In 2001, Phillip Lee-Woolf, a farmer from Broadway, won awards totalling £30,000 to market his distinctive eggs which come in pastel colours ranging from pale pink and blue to peach and peppermint green.

The £300,000 on offer is a record amount in the scheme's six-year history.

Applicants can also receive free management and marketing advice from a specialist consultancy.

The HGCA Enterprise Awards aim to help innovative businesses develop products and reach new markets with goods using what, barley, oats, rye and oilseeds, directly or indirectly.

Applications can be made online at www.hgca.com/ enterprise or phone Charlotte Smethurst on 020 7520 3927.