A LAKE District caravan park is officially one of the UK's most ethical businesses.

Skelwith Fold caravan park in Ambleside was been named as the north west ethical business of the year in the Federation of Small Businesses and Worldpay UK Business Awards 2017.

Now the park has the chance to take the national title after it was fast-tracked to the award finals in May.

A total of four regional finalists have been selected to compete for the national ethical business title, which comes with a £2,000 prize.

Skelwith Fold could then be in the running for the top prize of £10,000 covering all of the categories of the prestigious competition.

Judges praised the caravan park for the way it works to protect the local environment.

They said it had adopted forward-looking green policies, which they described as "an inspiration" to all small enterprises.

The company is owned by the Wild family, and Henry Wild said the honour was a fantastic achievement for the park which they acquired just over 20 years ago.

Skelwith Fold, which is just less than three miles from Ambleside, occupies the 130-acre grounds of a former country house, and has been described as "a wildlife wonderland" by world-famous botanist David Bellamy.

Thanks to the conservation work of Henry and his father Syd, the park attracts red squirrels, red and roe deer, badgers and a number of bird species.

It has introduced many high pollen-bearing flowers on which honey bees and butterflies can forage and a wetland reedbed system for the treatment of waste water.

The firm is also committed to keeping alive traditional countryside skills in the maintenance of the park, including hedge-laying, coppicing and dry stone walling.

Mr Wild has insisted that credit for the FSB award must also go to all of the park's staff.

He said: "Everyone working here is automatically enrolled onto our green team, and plays a very important part in putting our conservation policies into practice.

"They help with projects such as our winter wildlife feeding programme, building bee and bug hotels, creating new habitats, and recycling timber into bird and owl boxes.

"We also encourage staff to come forward with new ideas of their own which will make us even more wildlife friendly, and provide fascinating new discoveries for holiday guests," said Henry.

Skelwith Fold provides caravan holiday homes for private owners plus pitches for people with touring caravans and motorhomes, and also luxurious "glamping pods" for hire.

"I hope our FSB award shows that nature and small businesses such as ours can be perfect countryside partners," Mr Wild added.