THE winner of the Employee of the Year competition in Trowbridge has finally been decided.

Sarah Usher, 28, a healthcare assistant from Boots the Chemist will be claiming her prize of a two-week holiday for two in The Gambia.

She said: "I was really surprised to win I was happy just to get the flowers."

Boots the Chemist will also get £500 of advertising in the Wiltshire Times.

Mrs Usher and the five other finalists had to go through the nerve-wracking experience of being interviewed on stage by broadcaster Roger Cook.

She said: "I just looked at Roger and tried to forget the audience was there."

All the finalists in the competition had great support from the audience and the interviewer was full of praise for their efforts.

Mr Cook said: "I think they were all of a very high standard. Their references were so good they could have been written by the contestants themselves!"

He encouraged the organisers of the competition, Trowbridge Chamber of Commerce, to think about taking it countywide.

The judges at the event were Steve Oborne of Travail Employment, Alison Bennett of Nutricia, Richard Roberts of Virgin Mobile, Jackie Callaway from Trowbridge employment services and Wiltshire Times editor Toby Granville.

The runner-up in the competition was Lynne Webb, 52, who is a district supervisor at Trowbridge Library. She won a day trip on the Orient Express.