SPECSAVERS Cwmbran has been shortlisted for a national award that recognises opticians which have seen significant business growth.

The Cwmbran Centre store is the only Welsh finalist in the new Practice Growth Award category of the 2018 Opticians Awards.

The store, which opened in 1991, completed a £200,000 refurbishment in 2016 and has recently invested a further £100,000 in a robotic glazing machine - the Nidek SE 9090 - the first Specsavers store in Wales to do so.

The state-of-the-art device is used for glazing lenses, many of which can be completed within one hour, and improving the quality of the cut lenses, as well as the speed at which they can be produced.

Last year, the store’s laboratory team also became the first in Wales to achieve a 100 per cent score in a Specsavers quality audit, and in the past year 12 new members of staff have joined the 60-strong team.

Mark Edwards, the director of the stire, said: "This nomination is testament to how hard the team has worked during the past months and years to improve the service we offer our customers.

"We are committed to investing in our store, in our staff’s development and in the technology we use, so for us to be recognised for that is wonderful."

The Opticians Awards 2018 ceremony will take place in Birmingham on 14 April.