He may be almost 80, but parking attendant Bob Bruce is showing no signs of slowing down.

The grandfather has been named Parking Person of the Year at a national awards ceremony.

The 79-year-old customer service assistant for NCP in Chatham, was given the award at the British Parking Awards in London.

The dad of two, from Chatham, works at NCP’s car park in Rhode Street and was commended by both customers and colleagues for his professional and friendly attitude.

The awards recognise leading examples of car park management, enforcement, design and team work.

The Parking Person of the Year award is given to someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

The customer service assistant joined NCP in 1990 as a kiosk attendant in Maidstone before moving to Chatham.

Mr Bruce, who has previously served in the Navy, loves DIY and often performs maintenance across the car park. He is also passing on his expertise to the younger generation as he trains new workers.

He said he was delighted to have been recognised.

“I’ve always seen what I do as a service,” Mr Bruce said. “Yes, customers are paying for a parking space, but they’re also paying for my service, whether that’s helping them find a location they need to get to in the easiest possible way, lending them my umbrella when it’s raining or making sure they’ve understood what the price they’ve paid covers.”

Jill Pearson, cluster manager at NCP, said: “We’ve had countless customers contact us to highlight what a difference Bob has made. One lady even brought in a cake to thank Bob for going out of his way to help her.

"Later the same day, a young lad asked if he could leave his bike in the car park and go and look for his father as his chain had come off. Bob just got out his tools and fixed the chain.”

Duncan Bowins, managing director of operations, said: “Bob has become something of a legendary figure at NCP. In part because he’s been with us so long and remains so loyal to the business, but more because his service delivery has been exemplary since day one.

"Bob has been at Chatham for 25 years and it’s not an NCP site, it’s Bob’s. We’re just lucky that he’s kind enough to share it with us.”

Mr Bruce was given his award by former Coronation Street actress Debra Stephenson.