The owner of a Knightswood-based painting and decorating firm is celebrating after becoming the youngest winner of the Which? Trusted Trader of the Month Award.

Shaun McKay fought off competition from thousands of other member businesses to win the December title with judges praising his work ethic and his willingness to go the extra mile for customers.

The 26-year-old, who took over the business from his dad Shaun senior in 2013, who he still works with, told the Post he was delighted to pick up the award.

He said: “The good thing about it is that they said I was one of the youngest to win, but I have been told I am the youngest. It’s absolutely unbelievable to win at my age.

“When the lady from Which? phoned to say I’d won, it was a superb feeling.

“My father says you only get out of a company what you put in, and that’s what I’ve done ever since. Hard work is important to us – we normally work six or sometimes seven days a week. To beat 20,000 members is great, but the other good thing about it is that it means I could win trader of the year – if I win that, I’ll have done well.

“We always try and help people as much as we can with stuff that is not necessarily involved in the job."

As a testament to this, Shaun painted the back steps of a property with road-marking paint to help out a man who was suffering due to problems with his sight.

He explained: “Kindness goes a long way. The wee guy hadn’t been down the stairs in so many years, because the last time the close was painted, they forgot to put the markings on the stairs so he could see. His wife came over and said when you paint the close can you add them in, so he can go down, so we did that for him. He then spent most of the summer out in the garden and his wife said he loved it.”

The firm specialises in decorating period properties and the the former St Thomas Aquinas pupil’s attitude has won rave five-star reviews from satisfied customers due to his attention to detail, reliability and workmanship.

The judging panels took those reviews into account when deciding the winner of the monthly award and with this now in the bag, Shaun has his sights firmly set on winning the overall prize for 2018.