Richmonds Trading Standards Department has won an award for its excellence in serving the public.

The highly acclaimed Charter Mark award was given by the Cabinet Office, to recognise the high standard of service the department provides in giving customers value for money.

The department was judged in 10 key areas, including how effectively it used resources, how it provided fair information and whether or not users were satisfied.

The assessor even asked customers what they thought of the service.

Trading Standards is the first service in the borough ever to achieve the award.

Manager Dave Smith said: We are absolutely delighted that we have been awarded a Charter Mark, especially as we are the first service in the borough to be assessed for this award.

This shows that our efforts really have resulted in a quality service.

But we will not become complacent, we will continue to

consult with our customers and work hard to make the service even better.

The award will be presented to Trading Standards representatives at a ceremony in Westminster in February next year.