TAKEAWAY staff are celebrating sweet success after being named the best in the North West for the second time.

Spice Island, in Tonge Moor Road, took home the top prize for curry takeaways in the region at an event held at The Birmingham Conference & Events Centre yesterday.

The English Curry Awards aim to celebrate the hard work of takeaway and restaurant workers across the country and Spice Island has been shortlisted four times since winning both regional and national awards in 2016.

Muhammed Hussain, 50, has been working as a chef at the eatery for 24 years alongside his partner Gias Uddin.

He thanked his customers for their support in winning the award and said the people who regularly visit the takeaway are “like family”.

Following the win, there was an outpouring of support for the takeaway on Facebook with more than 70 people posting messages of support and congratulations.

“We’re pleased with the award because it’s 24 years of hard work,” he said.

“We want to say thanks to all of our customers firstly. We’re very proud of all of our customers. We also want to thank all of the staff, we’ve been working together for a long time and we wouldn’t have been able to win this without them.”

In addition to winning prizes at the English Curry Awards, Spice Island has also been shortlisted for prizes in the British and Asian editions of the awards in previous years.

Spice Island was joined in the list of award finalists by the Royal Balti House, in Market Street, Farnworth, and Spice Valley, in Lee Lane, Horwich, both nominated for North West best restaurant. Another business, Mangrove Restaurant in Manchester Road, Westhoughton, was also shortlisted for Most Wanted Restaurant.