TRESKE , the independent furniture and kitchen manufacturer of Thirsk, has been praised for its "magnificent" work at St John’s Church in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Simon Archer, church warden, said: “St John's is a Grade 2 listed building and we therefore had to ensure that any changes were acceptable. Treske provided various options and were very patient as we decided which one to choose. Their craftsmen did a magnificent job. The new rail is solid and provides a firm support when in place and although quite large and heavy, it is easy to fit. It is superb and looks excellent”.

Justin Bartlett, the owner of Treske, said although a relatively small job it was technically challenging. “We made the centre gull wing section to exactly match and fit between the existing altar rails. This was very difficult on many levels. The fit had to be exact, as did the matching of the actual shapes of the rail to the existing rail – otherwise it would have looked very poor."

ends

LEADING northern racehorse trainer Ann Duffield and her jockey husband, George, have won a major award for the luxury log cabin development at their Sun Hill stables in Constable Burton, near Leyburn.

Hoseasons Holidays have named it as one of the best three lodge locations in the North of England, based on customer feedback of exceptional service.

Mrs Duffield said: "We are thrilled by this award. We have worked tremendously hard to make our log cabins luxurious and welcoming and to get this prestigious accolade makes us very proud." The four cabins cost more than £700,000 to develop and attracted a 35 per cent grant from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). They are expected to boost the local economy by £500,000 a year.

ends

TRAINEES at the Clive Owen & Co accountancy firm are celebrating after passing their industry exams.

They include Michael Lanny and Gary Wallace at the firm’s Darlington office who passed their professional level exams, and Lisa Fletcher, based in York who has completed her final papers to become a fully qualified chartered accountant.

The company’s other eight students are at various stages of their exams with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).

ends.