STAFF at a Helensburgh fish and chip shop have been celebrating after winning an award for the Best Takeaway in Scotland.

The Wee Kelpie on West Clyde Street managed to retain their 2014 crown at the Scottish Entertainment and Hospitality Awards on Sunday, April 29.

Kerr and Nicola Raeburn, who run the seaside chippy and said they are “over the moon”.

Nicola, 42, told the Advertiser: “We won the title in 2014 and this is the first time they have had the category again, so we were kind of defending our title.

“It means an awful lot to us. I know that what we do is amazing, and we are unique in what we do, but we were up against some cracking businesses from all over the UK like toastie companies, so you never really know how it will go.

“It was a nice surprise to win. Kerr was screaming when we won.”

Kerr, 43, and Nicola thanked all their customers for their support and said they couldn’t have done it without them, after their votes meant they were shortlisted for the competition in March.

“We have had hundreds of lovely messages from customers in the shop and on Facebook and Twitter,” Nicola continued.

“Everyone has been lovely. Without our customers we wouldn’t have done it. There wasn’t a customer that we asked to vote that didn’t.”

The glamorous award ceremony was held in the Merchant Square in Glasgow and guests were treated to entertainment from magicians, mermaids and illusionists.

“We were one of the first to be announced, so we could relax and enjoy the night after that,” Nicola added.

The couple also congratulated Cara and Milan Nikolic, the owners of La Barca, who won the award for Best World Cuisine for the fifth year in a row.

Nicola said: “It’s a massive thing for the town. La Barca won too, so that’s two awards for the town, and that’s pretty good going.”

Nicola and Kerr, from Bridge of Weir, have owned The Wee Kelpie since 2011 and have scooped multiple awards.

They were recently awarded a glass trophy after becoming the Best Fish and Chip Shop of 2018 for south-west Scotland at the Italian Awards.

And they are looking forward to adding their Best Takeaway trophy to the collection on the shop counter.

“Summers are getting busier and busier. It seems as though the word is spreading and this at the weekend has really helped.

“We’re really proud of our team. We’ve taken on some new staff recently, so it’s great that they are managing to win awards and it just goes to show good we are.

She added: “It’s an amazing team and it’s good to be recognised in the industry. Maybe we’ll need to get a bigger kitchen soon.”