Last updated 11:43, Friday, 24 October 2008

AN expert mountaineering equipment salesman from the Ulverston area has beaten off competition from around the country to win a prestigious retail award.

Mark Barnes, deputy manager of The Climbers Shop in Ambleside, has been named the Outdoor Industries Association Retail Employee of the Year.

The 40-year-old was presented with a trophy, a cheque for £1,000 and a holiday for two by OIA chairman Frank Bennett at the Outdoor Trade Show at Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry, at the start of the month.

Mr Barnes, of Broughton Beck, said: “It’s a real honour to receive the OIA Retail Employee of the Year Award.

“The outdoors is my passion and I try to reflect that in my work, passing on my own enthusiasm to The Climbers Shop’s customers.

“Because I have developed a good knowledge of kit during my time in the industry, I am able to offer considered advice and steer customers in the right direction.

“I get a lot of satisfaction when those same customers return at a later date, because they appreciate the high level of service that they get here.”

Mr Bennett said: “Mark Barnes is an outstanding and very deserving winner, while The Climbers Shop is a shining example of how an independent outdoor retail store should be run, right at the heart of England’s outdoor community in the Lake District.”

OCC Outdoor magazine news editor Alistair Phillips, who helped pick the winner, said: “There were hardly any candidates who fell short of being excellent, but Mark was truly exceptional, a worthy winner and The Climbers Shop is lucky to have him.”