A MAN from Royston has been crowned the UK s best tiler. Despite being up against tough competition, Simon Pratt claimed top spot at the Tile Association Awards ceremony. Simon said his win was an absolute honour and said he hoped it was a sign of thi

A MAN from Royston has been crowned the UK's best tiler.

Despite being up against tough competition, Simon Pratt claimed top spot at the Tile Association Awards ceremony.

Simon said his win was an "absolute honour" and said he hoped it was a sign of things to come.

For the past few years, Simon has battled with illness, and was forced to stop working for a spell.

The 38-year-old said: "I think this will take me on to bigger and better things, and to be named as the best in the UK is fantastic.

"It came as quite a shock because I was up against some very strong tilers.

"I've had a very tough time, and I've really built myself up from the bottom.

"I've had a lot thrown at me, and hopefully I'm through the worst of it."

Simon, of Kipling Road, has been in the business for only three years, and after finding the job tough to begin with, is now going from strength to strength.

He said: "I've had quite a lot of jobs, but I can honestly say this is the best one I have ever had, and I'm loving every minute of it."

The Tile Association Awards, which were held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, have been described as the Oscars of the wall and floor tile industry.

Simon was chosen for his ability to produce tile installations to an extremely high quality in a variety of projects.

He added: "It was a lot of fun, and it's certainly nice for your work to be recognised in such a way.