A SALON stylist in a small market town fought off competition from across the whole of Yorkshire to scoop a regional award.

Samantha Marais, of Urban Hair in Boroughbridge won the Stylist of the Year title at the first ever Yorkshire Salon Awards.

The awards, part of the wider ‘Salon Awards’ group, were judged by the cream of the hairdressing industry, from Karine Jackson, the current President of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing, to hairdressing royalty like Errol Douglas and Paul Falltrick.

Radio comedian and presenter Glen Moore started the proceedings at the Royal Armouries in Leeds with a stand-up set before co-hosting the

Awards alongside founder and director Kate Jeffery.

Ms Jeffery said: “The Yorkshire Salon awards have had such a high standard of entries, making for some of the toughest competition yet.

“All the finalists and winners have done fantastically and should be super proud of themselves.

“It’s inspiring to see and celebrate so many hairdressers across the county carving a name for themselves in our industry.

She added: “I want to wish a huge congratulations to all the finalists and the winners, from myself, the judges and our sponsors.”