A DUDLEY handyman is hoping to hit the nail on the head as he vies for the title of Britain’s Top Tradesman.

General builder, Gary Mills, has seen off competition from more than 3,000 tradesmen to be named as a Midlands finalist in the Screwfix contest.

The 54 year-old, from Aintree Way, is now set to compete against other regional finalists on Thursday in Stoke for a chance of securing his place in the national final and possibly winning a Renault van worth £27,000.

Gary, who said he was “surprised” to find out he had made it through to the next stage of the competition, impressed judges after hearing how he retrained almost ten years ago, after being made redundant from his banking job in 2003.

The tradesman is also keen to help out his community and recently came to the aid of Himley Road Methodist Church when its boiler broke.

Gary, said: “The church had to raise £25,000 to repair the boiler and radiators and I offered to help them by taking out all 22 side pews for free, to enable the work to be carried out on the radiators.”

Screwfix marketing director John Mewett, said: "We've been overwhelmed by the response and have enjoyed reading some impressive and amusing stories along the way. Gary and our other finalists have demonstrated their willingness to go the extra mile to get the job done and it's certainly no easy task to pick the winner."

As part of the regional final, Gary will have to pit his wits against the other finalists in a number of challenges.