A Bermudian barber who set up a business in Britain has been recognised for his talent with the clippers.

Kurvin Spence, who moved to Nottingham in the East Midlands nine years ago, won first place in the Englands Business Awards regional final, after his business, TopKuttz, was nominated by a satisfied customer.

It is not the first time that Mr Spence has been rewarded for his skills.

He was a trophy winner in the prestigious Battle Of The Barbers competitions in London in 2017 and 2019.

Despite those victories, Mr Spence said that he was surprised to be nominated for the EBA competition — and even more taken aback when his name was called out as the winner during an awards ceremony on Sunday.

He said: “I received a letter from the competition organisers about two months ago saying that I had been nominated. That was a surprise, because I didn’t know I had been nominated — and I still don’t know who nominated me.

“Then, about two weeks ago I received another letter saying that I had been shortlisted.

“I was in complete shock when I found out I had won. Part of me, in the back of my mind was thinking, ‘well maybe I might be in with a chance’, but you never really think that you will win. I’m amazed. It’s unbelievable.”

Mr Spence and his siblings began cutting hair as children under the guidance of their father, Eugene, who ran a shop on Court Street.

In 1983, at the age of 12, he featured in an issue of Jet magazine, a US-based publication, which described him as "the world's youngest barber''.

Although the family carried on the business after their father died in 1992, Mr Spence did not plan on working as a barber when he moved to England in 2016.

He said: “I had worked for Belco before I made the move to the UK and was thinking of doing similar work.”

However, Mr Spence was drawn back into cutting hair after realising that he could offer something different in addition to his barbering skills.

He said: “Our Bermudian culture is unique — it’s different from anything else in the world.

“We’re very communicative, very friendly, and I think my customers appreciate that.”

After winning the regional final, Mr Spence is now in the running to be named the best barber in Britain later this year.

“It will be an honour to represent Bermuda in the national final,” he said.