From over 3,000 entries, Anglesey electrician Nick Blakeley has been named as a finalist in a national competition organised by trade retailer Screwfix – and is now battling it out with nine other finalists from other trades to take home the national title and a brand new van.
Nick, from Benllech, Anglesey, is a self employed electrician who prides himself on listening to his customers and his attention to health & safety. On one recent job Nick’s skills were put to the test when he discovered that an entire house was live with electricity because of a fault in the central heating system - risking the family’s life every time they even washed their hands.
Nick comments: “I arrived at a call-out to find a woman sitting on the floor shaking. I discovered a fault in the immersion heater which meant that as soon as she touched the tap and put her foot in the bath tub at the same time, she had a huge electric shock. It’s a miracle she wasn’t killed.”
Nick, who was a mobile DJ in a former life, was certainly a hit with the family when he fixed the fault and made sure they were safe from another nasty shock.
Nick, whose business is called Nick Blakeley Electrical, is now hoping to be crowned Britain’s Top Tradesman 2011 – and win a brand new van manufactured by Ford.
Nick added: “With so many entries to the competition, even making the final of Britain’s Top Tradesman is an honour. I’m just crossing my fingers that I impressed the judges!”
John Mewett, Marketing Director at Screwfix, said: “At Screwfix we meet hundreds of tradesmen every day in our trade counters and we understand how hard they work and the efforts they go to in order to get the job done to the highest standard, so it is great to be able to highlight the good work that is being done up and down the country with Britain’s Top Tradesman.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response and have enjoyed hearing some impressive stories of exceptional workmanship and great customer service along the way. Nick and all our finalists have demonstrated their willingness to go the extra mile to get the job done and it’s certainly no easy task to pick the winner.”
Nick was invited to Silverstone racecourse to meet the judging panel at the finalists’ day and was treated to a tour of the iconic race track.
The judging panel, which includes representatives from Screwfix, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) and the electrical trade body NICEIC will be announcing the national winner in June.