A Tunbridge Wells estate agency is celebrating after receiving an award for its customer service.

Freeman Forman, based in the High Street, won the coveted gold award in the South East (Kent) region category at the Estate & Letting Agent Awards 2015 (ESTAS).

The firm is part of Countrywide plc, the UK's largest estate agency and property services group.

The ESTAS, now celebrating their 12th year, are the only industry award based purely on the votes of buyers, sellers and landlords.

The annual event recognises the best offices in the UK for delivering outstanding customer service and customers are asked to vote based on experiences in 2014.

Hundreds of agents from across the UK took part and over 25,000 questionnaires were completed during the competition, making it the biggest consumer survey of its kind in the property industry.

Gavin Andrew of Freeman Forman in Tunbridge Wells said: “We are absolutely delighted to be recognised at this year’s ESTAS Awards. It means so much to us as we know it’s our customers who have judged our performance.

“We take our levels of customer service very seriously because we know clients have a choice. We have always been very proud of the personal service we provide and this is a great way to demonstrate how good we really are.”

Phil Spencer, who has hosted the ESTAS every year since their inception in 2003 said: “The ESTAS are about making people happy, putting a smile on their face and making a genuine difference to peoples’ lives. An agent’s role is about guiding people through one of the most stressful times in their lives and that’s not an easy job. The ESTAS help agencies to focus on customer service levels and that’s why firms keep coming back year after year”.