A Tillicoultry bricklayer has fought off competition from thousands of entries to be crowned Britain’s Top Tradesperson 2016.
Richie Maxwell (30) won the competition, organised by Screwfix, earning himself the keys to a brand new Toyota Hilux or PROACE vehicle.
Richie, who trades under the name RDM Elite Builders Ltd, impressed judges at the national final at Wembley Stadium, London with his “enthusiasm, skills and willingness to go the extra mile for customers”.
“I was so shocked when I received the phone call to tell me that I had won,” Richie revealed. “When I got in front of the judges, I told them all about my work, my qualifications and my passion for the trade. I even spoke about the time I was working at a local school and the teacher asked me to discuss life as a tradesman with the pupils.”
John Mewett, Screwfix marketing director added, “This is the seventh year that we have run this competition, and every year we are overwhelmed by the high standard of work completed by the nation’s tradespeople.
“More than six thousand tradespeople entered from across the UK and the quality of entrants was extremely high yet again. It was a very difficult task to shortlist the finalists, due to the talent and skills of the tradesmen and women who participated in the competition, and then to choose only one overall champion.
“Our winner Richie showed us that bricklaying is in his blood, and really impressed us with his honesty, integrity and the way in which he runs his business.”
