A landscaping business that created the garden for the Big Brother house has been recognised as a trader to be trusted by a leading consumer champion.

Richard Bickler, who runs Arbour Design and Build from his house in Markham Close, Borehamwood, has been named as a ‘Trusted Trader’ by Which?

Launched last November, the endorsement scheme helps individuals find the best traders in their local area and allows firms to set themselves above the competition.

Mr Bickler, 38, who has been designing, landscaping and maintaining gardens in London and Hertfordshire since 1996, planted the garden for the 2009 series of Big Brother at Elstree Studios.

He started working by himself after graduating from Capel Manor College in Enfield, but now employs two full-time and seven part-time staff.

He said he recently visited the first garden he had ever designed to refurbish it, and found it still going strong, which made him "very proud."

In order to be named as a trusted trader, the father-of-two passed an independent assessment process that included face-to-face evaluation by a professional assessor, a company credit check and vetting of ten customer references.

He said: “I am delighted to be named as a Trusted Trader. The company has a strong focus on quality and attention to detail and we aim to create truly outstanding gardens.

"Most of our work, about 80 per cent, comes from word of mouth recommendations, so people must be very satisfied with their gardens."

“It's been great for business. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the beginning of the year, and January is meant to be quiet.

“I work six and a half day weeks but still have more business than I can deal with.”

Barney McCarthy, who is a spokesman for Which? Trusted Traders, congratulated Arbour Designs for meeting the rigorous standard set by the scheme.

He said: “We launched Which? Trusted Traders to give consumers the confidence to make the right choices when it comes to finding skilled professionals and to give traders the chance to distinguish themselves from their peers.

"Being a Trusted Trader is a hard thing to achieve and gaining this status shows Arbour Design is among the best.”