IT will be best bib and tucker for the owners of an educational toy shop in Worcester when they attend the House of Commons for the final stages of a national retail competition.

Heather and Mark Stewart, who run Wise Owl Toys in Charles Street, are among 20 on the shortlist of Best Small Shops 2015. They will attend Westminster on, February 25 when the winners will be announced.

"It's all very exciting," said Mrs Stewart. "Before Christmas Robin Walker (Worcester's MP) came into our shop, said how much he liked it and that we should enter the Best Small Shops competition. We filled in the application form and then actually forgot about it. It was a really nice surprise to near we had made the shortlist because I gather there were hundreds of entries from all over the country."

It is not the first time the Stewarts have been recognised for the excellence of their business. Last year they received a score of a perfect 100 per cent from an independent secret shopper in a competition run by one of Europe's leading pen manufacturers.

The Best Small Shops Competition is organised by the All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group and administered by the Independent Retailers Confederation. A report by its judging panel said: ""We were impressed and delighted by both the number and calibre of the submissions from retailers for the award. We were humbled by their energy, impressed by their commitment and in awe of the extent to which the best are embedded in their communities. There is no doubt that independent retail is in the hands of creative, innovative, business-savvy individuals who are committed to making their local high street a better place."