AN INNOVATIVE Darlington woman has scooped a prestigious award recognising her outstanding effort to make students and graduates happy.

Christine Nunn, head of customer services at the Student Loans Company (SLC), was presented with a leadership award at a Contact Centre Association Excellence Awards ceremony.

The sought-after accolade is open to nominations from customer service teams around the world and Ms Nunn was rewarded for her dedication to her role over a five-year period.

Ms Nunn said: “I am very proud to accept this award which recognises the hard work and commitment of all of the customer services staff at SLC.”

Ms Nunn, who works at the Darlington-based SLC headquarters, received the award from comedian, Rory Bremner, during a prize-giving ceremony held in Glasgow last month.

Derek Ross, SLC executive director of operations and customer services, said: “This tremendous achievement is a testament to Christine’s dedication to driving forward improvements which result in high standards of service for our customers.”