YOUNG stonemason Gary Collier has won a top prize.
The 24-year-old Slaithwaite man was given the Duke of Gloucester award at the Mansion House in London.
The prize honours the most improved stonemason who has been qualified for less than five years.
This month’s prize is the latest for Gary, who took silver at the 2005 WorldSkills in Helsinki.
He said: “I was invited to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace afterwards. She spoke to me for a while about the competition which was unbelievable.”
Gary has been a stonemason since he was 16, qualifying four years later.
He works for Oldham-based Lloyd and Smith. Gary believes the company has helped him be successful.
He said: “I think it’s because the firm is highly specialist. We have a much higher quality than many other companies.”
Lloyd and Smith have worked on cathedrals in Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and Castleford Roman Fort.
