A WEST Dorset building site manager has been recognised with a national award.

Stephen Walker, site manager for Litton Cheney building company CG Fry, has received an award at the National House Building Council's (NHBC) Pride in the Job Awards.

Mr Walker fought off competition from around 16,000 others to be named the UK's supreme winner in the medium builder category.

Mike Quinton, NHBC chief executive, said: “NHBC’s mission is to ensure the highest construction quality in new-build homes across the UK and site managers play a pivotal role in making this happen.

"Our Pride in the Job champions and runners up like Stephen beat an incredible number of others to win the title, and they can justifiably claim to be among the best in the business, knowing that the homes they build are of the very highest quality.

“Pride in the Job has now been running for 35 years and our analysis shows that winning sites have higher levels of consumer satisfaction with fewer claims and defects, reinforcing the importance of the competition for both NHBC and the house-building industry.”

Mr Walker is managing CG Fry's site at the north-east quadrant in Poundbury.

He said: "The challenge now is to continue the exceptional quality of build and attention to detail that has become a hallmark of the C G Fry & Son brand and the company’s reputation."

The Pride in the Job Awards recognise the talent and expertise of top site managers who oversee house-building projects from start to finish - driving up standards on site for the ultimate benefit of homeowners.

The winners of the competition’s five builder categories are all working on projects registered for warranty with the NHBC, which covers around 80 per cent of the new home insurance market.

The other winners at this year’s event, hosted by comedian Kevin Bridges,were Kirk Raine of David Wilson Homes in the large builder category, Paul Dunnett of Berkeley Homes - winner of the multi-story category. Michael Thomas of South Meadow Homes took the award in the small business category, while David Barratt of DF Barratt Ltd won the single home category.

For more information on the Pride in the Job Awards, please visit nhbc.co.uk/prideinthejob