A NEIGHBOURHOOD shop from Worcestershire has topped the list at a national retail awards.

Biddle’s Simply Fresh in Redditch, was crowned winner of the independent retailer of the year award and highly commended in the chilled retailer of the year (independent) category, at the 2014 Retail Industry Awards at London’s five star Grosvenor House Hotel.

Retailer Simon Biddle said: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled with our winnings. I’d like to thank all of our consistently hard working staff and also our customers for their support and loyalty to Biddle’s throughout the years. We could not have done this without the support of our staff and our community."

Now entering it’s 19th year, the Retail Industry Awards has become firmly established as the ‘Oscars’ of the grocery industry, rewarding excellence across a raft of different categories, from the smallest independent retailers to the largest supermarket groups.

Biddle’s Simply Fresh is part of the Simply Fresh symbol group which also scooped up some awards on the night, including fresh produce retailer of the year (Symbol Group) and symbol initiative of the year for its "We Love Food, We Love Our Community" product.