The Leeds Building Society has announced that Newcastle mortgage adviser Joanne Butler is its customer adviser of the year for 2015.

The award, now in its sixth year, is open to any branch adviser from across the Society’s 67 branches.

“Joanne does all she can to help her customers achieve their dream of home ownership,” said Andrew Medling (pictured, right), regional manager for Leeds Building Society in the North East.

“She has received many letters from very grateful customers praising her fantastic service and I am so pleased her expertise and dedication has been acknowledged through this award.”

At the awards lunch, 21 customer advisers, nominated by their regional managers, were recognised for their outstanding performance in the branch network. From these, seven regional winners received trophies, vouchers, certificates and champagne to mark their achievements.

The overall winner award was then presented to Butler, (pictured, left), who said: “I am delighted to receive this award as there were so many deserving nominees this year.

“It is a fantastic achievement to be the overall branch adviser of the year, my aim is always to provide the best outcome for my customers and they are always at the forefront of my day-to-day life in the branch. I look forward to helping more customers buy the homes they want in 2016.”