CAMBRIDGE: A three-strong team from MKM Building Supplies won the Practical Building Skills Challenge at Cambridge Regional College's SmartLife construction centre. 

MKM Building Supplies had one member less than the other teams but still triumphed at the event organised by the Institute of Builders Merchants. The four-strong team from Parker Building Supplies took second place.

Carpentry, brickwork, paving and painting projects were all hotly contested as seven teams competed against the clock.

The hands-on event, the third of its kind, was designed by the IoBM to boost product knowledge and help improve sales through the practical experience of installing products dealt with on a daily basis.

The winners were presented with trophies to mark the occasion and all attendees were given a year's free membership of the IoBM, which recognises, accredits and monitors educational qualifications and professional standards for employees in the builders' merchants industry.