A YOUNG Bolton bathroom designer has been named the country's best.

Gary Clegg, aged 23, won the Young Designer Award for Bathrooms in the 10th annual Bathrooms and Kitchens Magazine Industry Awards.

Mr Clegg, of Knowsley Drive, Bolton, has worked at Bathrooms & Design Ideas for a year, after graduating with a BSc in product design at Salford University. He won the award for a bathroom at a house in Sale which included all modern facilities - in a limited space with several sloping ceilings.

As part of his award, Mr Clegg will now be going to Chicago to further hone his design skills on a travelling scholarship. He said: "I am over the moon. I have only been working in the industry for 12 months and this is the first award I have entered. It was brilliant to receive my award from Ruby Wax."

The editor of Bathrooms and Kitchens magazine and chairman of the judges, Philippa Turrell, said: "The standard of entries for the 2004 awards was extremely high and I cannot praise the winners' achievement highly enough. The Bathrooms and Kitchens Industry Awards act as a benchmark for excellence within our industry, and the winners represent the cream of an increasingly impressive selection."