WITH the news full of doom and gloom at the moment, we could all do with a little light relief.

So one Huddersfield card shop has come up with a scheme to cheer us all up– by making us smile.

Alison Rayner, who runs the Don’t Forget card and gift shop in Marsh, came up with the Smile competition to give locals a bit of a giggle.

The idea is simple; people bring in photos of themselves, their loved ones or even their pets.

There’s just one stipulation – they have to be smiling!

Dozens of pictures have already gone up on display in the Westbourne Road shop, but there’s still room for plenty more.

Alison said: “We decided that Huddersfield needed cheering up from all the gloom that’s around at the moment.

“You turn on the TV in the morning and it’s full of stories about MPs’ expenses, the credit crunch and even the bad weather.

“It’s enough to make you choke on your cornflakes, it’s all thoroughly miserable.

“So we decided to have a bit of fun and bring the smiles back onto peoples’ faces.”

Customers and locals are being invited send in their snaps and says Alison, the funnier and wackier the better.

She said: “People can bring smiling pictures of themselves, their friends and family, babies or even their cat or dogs.

“As long as they’re smiling we don’t mind!

“We’ve had some great ones so far, some really funny ones of people on holiday and having barbecues at home where there may have been a few bottles of drink involved.

“One of my favourites is the grinning yellow Labrador, that really puts a smile on my face!”

Alison and her team’s bid to brighten up Huddersfield really seem to have done the trick and entries have been flooding in from snap-happy locals .

They plan to run the contest for about a month and present the winner with gifts from the shop.

Alison said: “The photos are on display in the window and because it faces the bus shelter lots of people are having a look and a laugh.

“They’re really making people giggle and smile and that’s a lovely thing to see.”

To enter the Smile competition, just drop your snaps into the shop, which is on Westbourne Road.

Alternatively email pictures to dont-forget@hotmail.co.uk.