A KIDLINGTON funeral director is celebrating his nomination for a national award, just over a year after quitting a full-time job to start his own business.

C.S. Boswell, based in Bicester Road, has been nominated for the Most Promising New Funeral Director prize in this year's Good Funeral Awards.

For owner Carl Boswell, the nomination is a well-earned reward after setting up the independent business from scratch just 14 months ago.

Until last year the Kidlington resident spent most of his working life as a staff member at S & R Childs funeral services in Oxford, but quit after becoming disillusioned with the commercial direction the industry was going in.

He said: "Sometimes I found it very impersonal with customers and there were not the same services available, which I was why I decided to open my own funeral business.

"It was a big risk. I wanted to make a difference to the community."

Mr Boswell spent nearly £60,000 of his own savings to get started and open the new offices.

Starting by himself with a single car, Mr Boswell has already grown the business to include nearly a dozen staff members and four vehicles. He has now helped organise more than a hundred funerals.

He said: "As an independent business we do not have huge overheads and people appreciate how I am trying to make a difficult situation easier for them.

"I always try to be honest and transparent and I always ask the customer what they want.

"The nomination makes it all worthwhile. As long as I can go home in the evening knowing that I have helped people then I'll be happy.

"If I won I would be ecstatic, but I already feel like a winner."

The 27-year-old - who works with brother Ryan, 24 - started out in funeral services when he was just 14, taking on a role while doing work experience at school.

He said: "I never expected it to be my ongoing career but I never realised the effect that doing this can have on people's lives.

"Two of my grandparents also passed away last year and that has been another inspiration for me as well."

Mr Boswell is not the only Oxfordshire-based service to be nominated for the awards, which will be held at Porchester Hall in London on September 8.

Lucy Coulbert, of Oxford-based Coulbert Family Funerals is shortlisted in five categories including Modern Funeral Director of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Claire Turnham of Only With Love has five as well including Low Cost Funeral Director of the Year.

Temple Cowley-based Colourful Coffins is entered in the Coffin Supplier of the Year category, Flower Workshop in Wootton is in Funeral Florist of the Year and the mortuary team at the John Radcliffe Hospital are hoping to land the Mortuary Assistant Or Team of the Year prize.