A COFFEE shop supervisor from Harlow has been named the Select Service Partner (SSP) Airport and Marine Employee of the Year for her work at Stansted Airport.o

Maria Gregario, 40, a supervisor at the Franklins of Boston Coffee Shop, beat off competition in the regional heats to get through to the final stages of the competition, before winning the accolade and receiving a £1,000 Thomas Cook holiday voucher.

Mrs Gregario said: "My husband, who also works for SSP at Stansted, recommended that I join the company and I'm glad he did because I enjoy my work very much. My daughter also works for SSP so when I won the title it was a real family celebration.

"The £1,000 holiday voucher will go towards an exotic holiday for my family next summer, maybe in Brazil or Australia. We're all looking forward to it."

SSP managing director Richard Nieto said: "The last 12 months have been a huge challenge but it has also been a successful year for the business. None of our successes could have been achieved without employees such as Maria providing excellent customer service, day in, day out, 365 days a year.

"Every staff member has an important part to play and it's always a pleasure to be able to reward personal contributions to our business."