STAFF at a South Lakeland Jobcentre who strive to find work for jobseekers in the area as well as meet the high demand for new recruits have received national recognition.

Windermere Jobcentre, on High Street, is one of only a handful of Jobcentres around the country to receive the National Performance Award, which is presented to the top achievers in Britain.

Margaret John, Employment Service assistant regional director, personally congratulated and thanked the High Street team for their efforts.

"When you look at the volume of clients and of people coming in here, it shows just how hard the team works," she told manager Sean Ashton.

"It is a tremendous job that you and your colleagues have done.

It is a team effort, and doesn't just happen overnight."

The centre is far removed from typical Jobcentres around the country, by being in the unique position of having to find employees to meet the high demand for staff, which outstrips the availability of local labour.

With only 50 unemployed people signing on at the centre, the five-strong team have to be innovative to find the staff, especially in the peak season for the hospitality and catering trade.

And they have established strong links with Jobcentre all over the country to enable local employers to recruit the quantity and calibre of people they require.

A spokesman for the Employment Service said that the Windermere office picked up the award for being "the most prolific in its class in the country, beating off competition from over 260 other similar sized centres."

Mr Ashton said: "I am thrilled to accept this award.

We are a relatively small team who work hard to provide the best possible service to local jobseekers and employers, and it is gratifying to receive this kind of recognition."