THE Lake District National Park Authority has been given gold star status for its customer service.

The accolade puts the national park in the top five percent of 3,000 organisations assessed by Customer Service Excellence.

Quality manager Neil Solender said it was an achievement to be proud of, and paid tribute to unstinting service by staff and volunteers.

He said: “We provide a huge range of services, from information centres to outdoor events, car parks to catering, sustainable transport to education initiatives and so much more.

“Across the board, what we do and how we do it has been given gold star status and we are delighted by the assessment, but we won’t stop here. The challenge is to carry on improving.”

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He added: “What’s especially pleasing is CSE’s declaration that others could learn from us. And we have already been approached by leading organisations to pick up some tips.

“CSE highlighted our work with the local community, especially in the Ullswater valley. The assessor met residents and saw the diverse range of needs and successful actions. Our customer-focused approach received warm praise.

“We were the first national park to get the award and have continued to receive CSE status ever since. However, this year’s announcement that we have scored so highly is a fantastic boost.”

Some 57 areas of work were reviewed, and the national park excelled in 14 of those.