A HASLEMERE master technician has won a national engineering award at the 2016 Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE) Skills Challenge.

Kevin Hunter, who works at London United Busways (LUB) Stamford Brook bus garage, won the top scoring electrical technician award.

The award aims to find the best bus and coach technicians in the UK and Ireland by testing their skills and knowledge in a series of mechanical, electrical and bodywork tasks.

Since it was founded in 2011, the IRTE Skills Challenge has been embraced by operators as a way of benchmarking their skills against others in the industry, and celebrates excellence in engineering training and development.

Mr Hunter started his career as an apprentice at Lucas, then went on to spend 25 years as a self-employed electrician before joining LUB in 2011.

His role includes troubleshooting electrical faults at various LUB garages. As part of his prize, Kevin (pictured) won high-end tool sets from Teng Tools and was presented with a certificate recognising his achievement.

Lloyd Mason, engineering development manager for Arriva – and himself a former winne of the award – told the Herald: “The challenge is now an established event in the bus and coach calendar, and gives our technicians a chance to showcase their abilities and perform to the highest level,”