A Stone M&S employee has marked more than 25 years with the retailer. Carl Nutt, who lives in Stone, now works as a shift lead at the M&S Westbridge Park store.

Nutt joined M&S when he was 21, starting at the former store in Hanley's Upper Market Square. It was there he met his future wife Ruth, who joined his team in the food department.

"When we first met, I was working in the Food department of the former Hanley store," Carl said. "I came back from a holiday to find that Ruth had joined my team, and we immediately clicked. Another colleague from the bakery counter saw a spark between us and played matchmaker."

The couple worked together at M&S for more than 10 years. They have been together for more than 18 years and married in 2012.

Career progression across stores

During his career, Carl has worked at four M&S stores across Staffordshire and Derbyshire. He was involved in the openings of the Wolstanton and Ashbourne stores while working as a section coordinator.

He now works close to home at Westbridge Park, where he is responsible for opening shifts and oversees a team of around eight colleagues. M&S opened its Stone Foodhall at Westbridge Park in July 2018.

"When the opportunity arose to work at the Westbridge Park store, I couldn't pass it up," Carl said. "The store has a really lovely community spirit; everyone knows everyone and it's very sociable, which makes it a great place to work. I also live less than five minutes away from the store, which is perfect for me."

Becoming a shift lead has been another of his proudest moments. "I can't believe it's been over 25 years to be honest; it's flown by. I feel very lucky to have got to try so many different roles so far, as well as playing a part in store openings, which are always so much fun."

Michael Hurst, store manager at M&S Westbridge Park Stone, said: "Achieving more than 25 years of service is a phenomenal milestone, and Carl deserves every second of the celebrations. He is absolutely integral to our store team, always going above and beyond to help our customers, and is simply a joy to be around."