A SUCCESSFUL Grimsby businessman says his firm relies on a network of larger and smaller companies to survive.

Scott Watts, founder and director of property maintenance company The-Handyman.co.uk Ltd, is supporting the Grimsby Telegraph's Your Life: Buy Local campaign as a way to protect the hierarchy that exists between local companies.

As reported, over the coming months we will be showing you how making a few small changes to your spending habits could help to save a struggling local company and therefore protect all of the other businesses it supports.

Scott explained that his company, which supplies all kinds of property maintenance services, from plumbing and decorating to gas and electrical work, is part of a much larger network of firms.

He said: "I try to use local suppliers for our products wherever possible as I'd much rather my money went into supporting local businesses.

"And at the other end of the scale, we rely on much bigger businesses, like the Grimsby Institute, and local care homes that employ us to carry out their work.

"A lot of small firms are struggling financially and I think we all have a responsibility to support them where we can.

"Whether that's a big company employing a smaller local company, like us, or a person shopping at a local shop for their vegetables instead of a supermarket."

Scott founded The-Handyman.co.uk Ltd in July 2009 after being made redundant as a lorry driver. Despite the country being in the middle of a recession, he discovered that there was a need for the services he was supplying.

He said: "It was daunting when I started because I had nothing but a £400 van I bought off eBay.

"Luckily I found that the work was out there because people always want quality and convenient service at a good price. I've since taken on three other members of staff, all of whom were facing unemployment because the companies they worked for had gone into administration. Another way I'm giving something back to the local area is by being an official sponsor of Grimsby Town Football Club this year."

Keith Beedie, head of estates for the Grimsby Institute, said the Institute prides itself on using local services like The Handyman.

"It's very important for us to support our local community and working with local companies in a wide variety of settings brings positive outcomes for the whole area," he said.

"We use The Handyman because of the outstanding quality of his work."