Stylists from Mark Leeson hair salon in Mansfield secured two awards at the HJ British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional.

The salon has been named Artistic Team of the Year as well as stylist Olivia Binch being crowned Eastern Hairdresser of the Year.

The results were revealed at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House London.

The Mark Leeson Artistic Team beat competition from five other finalists to win the Artistic Team category, each having submitted a photographic collection demonstrating outstanding technical and creative expertise.

“We are honoured to have won this award,” said Mark Leeson on behalf of the team. ‘This is our fourth time winning and it feels absolutely amazing. We pour so much time, effort, and passion into creating our photographic collections – there’s a story behind every shot.

“It really is a team effort and we all work so well together and support one another. The standard of entries was so high and to have our work acknowledged by such an esteemed panel of judges means the world to us.”

Olivia triumphed in the awards, dubbed the Oscars of the hair world, gaining top spot as the East of England’s most outstanding hairdresser, in a category which had entrants from 11 counties – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, and Suffolk.

Olivia added: “I feel ecstatic to have won this award. I want to thank everyone at Mark Leeson salon, my mum and dad and my fiancé, as well as everyone else who has supported me. The last few years I created black and white collections and this year I went bold and bright. I threw everything at it! It’s a great feeling when your hard work is recognised by the best in the industry.”

Jayne Lewis-Orr, executive director of HJ’s British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional, said: “The Mark Leeson team and Olivia demonstrated a creative vision and level of expertise. Their work is an inspiration to us all and utterly deserving of this title.”