TRADESMAN Derek Niven was today flushed with success after being named Britain's Favourite Plumber.

And, far from being drained by his success, he issued a personal thankyou to the mystery customer who took the plunge and voted for him.

Derek, 35, of Pimlico Road, Clitheroe, won the award after beating off competition from five other UK finalists at an awards ceremony at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Derek said: "I was delighted to win and can't thank enough the customer who nominated me in the first place."

The awards are run every three years by the Institute of Plumbing and are designed to recognise the skills of the very best professionals, as well as highlighting to the consumer the importance of health and safety in plumbing.

Contenders must first be nominated by their customers before going through progressively rigorous judging stages to determine first county winners, then six area winners, and finally the holder of the national title.

Derek, who was working on a job in Bacup when the Lancashire Evening Telegraph caught up with him, said: "I was sent a number of questionnaires from the Institute of Plumbing to hand out to customers after I had completed a job and someone must have filled one in and sent it off. After I was named Lancashire's favourite plumber I had to go through an interview at Warrington to qualify for the regional finals in front of two judges and then in London for the finals there were 10 judges.

"The prize for winning the regional final was to spend the weekend in London, which is when the national final took place. We enjoyed a meal at the Savoy and won tickets to watch 'Chicago' in the West End. We had a great time."

Judges were drawn from among the UK's major plumbing associations, companies supporting the awards, including Hepworth Plumbing Products, Wavin Plastics, Worcester Heat Systems and Yellow Pages, and the National Consumer Federation.

Over 1,000 plumbers were nominated this year.

Former Ribblesdale High School pupil Derek began his career through a YTS scheme, initially working in engineering, and has subsequently combined practical experience with university study to develop his skills.

He has worked for much of his 18-year career with Whalley-based Calder Services Ltd, which he joined as an apprentice, gaining City & Guilds craft, advanced craft and supervisor qualification, and he is now a senior field service technician at the firm.

And he has recently studied for the Higher National Certificate in building services on a day release basis at Salford University, one of the country's prime universities for construction related courses.

Derek, whose customer base covers most of East Lancashire, also holds qualifications for gas (ACOPS) and oil (OFTEC) heating system installation.

The Award's three-year cycle coincides with the timing of the World Plumbing Conference. As part of his prize Derek will attend this year's conference, to be held in Berlin in May, with fiancee Jane Wadsworth.