Regional journalists are being offered the chance to win £500 for writing an article about epilepsy.

The National Society for Epilepsy is looking for examples of responsible and accurate reporting about the condition, and will award £500 to the writer of the best submitted work.

The competition closing date is January 15, 2007, and entries must have been published during 2006.

This year's winner was Laurie Coombs from the Burton Mail, who submitted a two-page feature which included an interview with a woman whose son had died after suffering a seizure, and another article about how a woman diagnosed with epilepsy coped with the condition.

Laurie said: "Epilepsy is an illness which is close to my heart as my dad was diagnosed with it nine years ago, so I really enjoyed writing the feature.

"I wanted to concentrate on the positives to show others with epilepsy that it's not the end of the world and that help is out there. I'm really happy to have won."

Entries for the 2007 competition should be sent to the NSE press office at Chesham Lane, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks SL9 0RJ. Each entry must be accompanied by a separate A4 sheet listing the name, address and contact telephone number of the journalist.

Any aspect of epilepsy can be covered and more than one article can be submitted.

For more details visit www.epilepsynse.org.uk