Posted 4.11.10

A fire protection engineer from Kent has become the first recipient of the UK Worker of the Year title. Workwear specialists Dickies has announced that John Stone, from Westerham near Sevenoaks in Kent, has been crowned as the inaugural winner.

The company launched the initiative to recognise excellence in the British work force in April. At a gala awards ceremony held at the weekend in the Ballroom of Hertherden Hall at the famous Pinewood Film Studios, John Stone was honoured for his work in helping save lives as a fire protection engineer in Kent.

"The majority of entries really exemplified what we were looking for in the search for the UK's Worker of the Year," explains TV presenter and judge Quentin Willson. "When we actually met the finalists, we were extremely impressed by all of them and they made choosing a winner no small task.

"That said, John's absolute love of his job and his ability to sell both himself and what he does came shining through. So in the end, though it was an extremely close-run affair, it was an almost unanimous decision."

A delighted John Stone received his UK Worker of the Year trophy from Maurice Morton and Quentin Willson. "I'm absolutely amazed. To win something like this is more than I could ever have dreamt of, but having spent a day with the other finalists I know they are all no less deserving of recognition for the work that they do."

He then had to make his choice out of the three brand new Renaults that were on offer as the main prize for UK Worker of the Year.