He has been championing the cause of independent stores by shopping locally throughout the festive season and now 57-year-old Norwich shopper Franclim Oliveira, pictured, is delighted to be named the winner of the Evening News Shop Local for Christmas competition.

Mr Oliveira, from Beloe Avenue, in Bowthorpe, was the lucky Norwich person to be picked for the �1,000 cash prize after he sent in his completed Shop Local passport filled with 10 stamps from participating independent shops. He said he could not quite believe it when he received the phone call to say he had won.

'I have never won anything in my life before. I could not believe it,' said Mr Oliveira, who is married to Elizabeth, 60, and who has one son, two step-children, and three grandchildren.

'We have not had a holiday for the last two-and-a-half years, and so we will go somewhere warm to escape the cold – probably the Canary Islands.'

Mr Oliveira knows only too well how important the support of local people is to shopkeepers as he runs his own Portuguese delicatessen, O Brinquinho, in Aldiss Court, Dereham.

His shop was one of the participating stores in the Shop Local campaign and competition which has also been running in the Norwich Evening News' sister weekly papers throughout Norfolk and part of Suffolk.

He said: 'The Shop Local for Christmas campaign was a nice idea.

'It brought people back to the shop more frequently and it was a good incentive. People would spend extra money to qualify for the stamps.'

Hundreds of shoppers completed 'passports' by spending more than �100 with local retailers and more than 700 businesses took part in the campaign.

In total, more than 20 people living in different areas of Norfolk and part of Suffolk have won �1,000 in the Shop Local for Christmas competition.

You helped independent Norwich businesses have a great Christmas by shopping locally during the festive season and now you are being urged to stay local and give them your year-round support.

The Evening News Shop Local for Christmas campaign helped boost the profile of independent shops throughout the Norwich area at a crucial time for traders.

Your support was appreciated by a whole range of local retailers – including farm shops, clothes stores, businesses run by local artists, and charity shops – and while the campaign is now drawing to a close, it is important that we do not forget how vital our local independent stores are to the overall retail mix that makes Norwich one of the top shopping destinations in the country.

Shopping locally also helps to improve the local economy – research suggests a pound spent with a local business stays in the local economy for five more transactions, whereas a pound spent with a national business operating locally stays in the local economy for just two transactions.

Roger Pemberton, chairman of Norwich Lanes Traders Association, said the Norwich Lanes had enjoyed a good boost in the final week before Christmas.

He said: 'I think the Evening News campaign has been great in bringing independent shops to the front of people's minds.'

Tamara Rampley is one of the founders of The Jade Tree, in Elm Hill, which is home to the studios of six artists and stocks items made by about 30 artists in its shop.

She said: 'By shopping at the Jade Tree you are helping local artists survive. In a recession people need the help of the local community to stay in business.

'The community is stronger when people shop locally and everyone supports each other – and for the shopper they get the gifts that they cannot get anywhere else. I hope people won't forget about local stores after Christmas, and I hope they will carry on shopping locally all year round.'

Ms Rampley said the Shop Local for Christmas campaign had helped boost trade at the Jade Tree and said the Saturday after the shop was featured in the paper was the Jade Tree's busiest Saturday all year.

'There have not been huge sales because of the effect of the recession, but the number of people coming into the Jade Tree has increased,' she said.

Nigel Carter, from City Farm Shop, at the Daniels Road Notcutts Garden Centre, is also urging people to carry on shopping locally and said the farm shop had been very busy in the run-up to Christmas.

He said: 'We were very busy over the last two weeks before Christmas. In the past it has flattened out after Christmas, but if you are more than happy with the quality of our produce and our service, we do not go away, we are here 52 weeks of the year and hopefully people will keep us in mind.

'By shopping at City Farm Shop you are not just supporting us, but also the local farming community.'

David Kingsley, one of the directors of Norwich clothing stores Ginger, Jonathan Trumbull, Hatters and Chadds, said his stores had enjoyed a busy festive season, and that it was important to continue to encourage people to shop locally.

He said: 'What we have all got to do is encourage people to shop locally. The internet is having a massive impact, and the independents do not have the power of the big stores in terms of marketing and advertising.

'The independents will disappear unless they are supported.'

Are you opening up an unusual business in Norwich? Contact Emma Knights on 01603 772428 or email emma.knights@archant.co.uk