The National Lottery is searching for Macclesfield's 'hometown hero' or 'lockdown legend' as part of the 2020 National Lottery Awards.

This year the annual search for the UK's most popular National Lottery funded projects will, for the first time, honour individuals who have made an extraordinary impact in their community, especially those who have adapted during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

New figures reveal more than £848,000 of National Lottery funding has been invested in good causes in Macclesfield in 2018/19.

A total of 18 National Lottery grants were awarded in the region during the previous financial year, providing vital support to arts, sports, heritage and community projects.

From today, The National Lottery are calling for nominations of people who have done amazing things with the help of National Lottery funding and are an inspiration to us all.

Winners in each category will receive a £3,000 cash prize for their organisation and a coveted National Lottery Awards trophy.

Jonathan Tuchner from The National Lottery is encouraging the people of Macclesfield to make their nominations.

He said: "The National Lottery continues to have a positive impact on life across the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players thousands of projects are making an incredible difference to their local communities.

"Now, more than ever, people have rallied together, and individuals are performing inspirational acts and extraordinary endeavours to help in cities, towns and villages up and down the country.

"Thanks to National Lottery players, up to £600 million has been made available to support communities throughout the UK amid the coronavirus crisis. People have used National Lottery funding in amazing ways during these challenging times. We want to honour them as part of this year's National Lottery Awards and recognise their selfless dedication and thank them for their fantastic work."

Encompassing all aspects of National Lottery good causes funding, the 2020 National Lottery Awards are seeking to recognise outstanding individuals in the following sectors:

• Arts

• Education

• Health

• Environment

• Sport

• Heritage

• Community / Charity

And there will be a special Young Hero Award for someone under the age of 18 who has gone that extra mile in their organisation. All nominees must work or act for a National Lottery funded organisation or have received National Lottery funding.

To make your nomination for this year's National Lottery Awards, tweet @LottoGoodCauses with your suggestions or complete an entry form through the Lottery Good Causes website . Entries must be received by midnight on 19th August 2020.

• Individuals that are nominated must complete National Lottery Awards entry form

• Winners will be selected by a panel made up of members of The National Lottery family including Camelot and distributing bodies.

• Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £41 billion for projects and over 565,000 grants have been awarded across the UK

• Funding figures are derived from The National Lottery Index – a project commissioned by The National Lottery Promotions Unit and carried out by the University of Hertfordshire which analyses grants from all 12 National Lottery distributors

• For more information about projects funded by The National Lottery or The National Lottery Awards visit [L][L+]www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk[L} and follow the campaign on Twitter: @LottoGoodCauses #NLAwards