A Wimbledon milkman who continuously goes above and beyond for his customers has been named best in the country.

Ian Beardwell's acts of kindness include re-uniting lost cats and dogs with their owners, returning a laptop after finding it on the road and even chasing car thieves.

It was these good deeds that saw him nominated for Milk and More’s 'milkman of the year' in the first place.

Ian, whose father was a milkman before him, and his uncle, is brimming with pride at his victory.

But the much-loved milkman’s first thought was with the people he serves.

“I want to say a huge thank you to my customers, many of whom I have been delivering to for years," he said.

“I’m just so touched to even be nominated. I love my job and if I can help anybody in the course of that, then that’s an added bonus for me but it’s only what anyone would do.”

One story in particular struck a chord with the judges.

He was completing his milk round at 4am when he noticed the front door of a house wide open and all the lights on.

Concerned, he rang the doorbell and waited for a response.

He was greeted by a visibly shaken local woman. She told him she had woken up when she heard someone break into her home.

Her young and terrified daughter was upstairs with her. Too scared to do anything other than turn on the lights and pace around to try to warn the burglars that someone was home, the frightened resident hadn’t managed to call the police or check whether anyone was still inside.

Ian offered to wait at her door while she did this, reassuring and calming her at the same time. Once she had called the police, Ian then completed his round before circling back 10 minutes later to check on her.

Charles Runcie, one of Ian’s longstanding customers, described him as an "unsung hero" of the community.

"He goes above and beyond simply delivering milk," he said.

"He’s always looking out for others who may need a helping hand, reporting or solving problems and generally keeping an eye on things.

He’s like an extra pair of eyes to many. The reassuring hum of Ian’s milk float as it goes down my street and the chink of bottles on my doorstep always brings a smile to me, even at 4.30 in the morning.”