Leeds station CV stunt lands former royal butler new job

Trevor Walford said he was "chuffed" with his new job

A former royal butler who gave out his CV at railway stations after losing his job in lockdown has found a new role.

Trevor Walford, 63, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, lost his work on a cruise ship because of Covid-19 and spent months applying online to no avail.

The railway station stunt caught the attention of Rob Campbell, chief executive of a restaurant group.

Mr Walford was invited for an interview and landed the position as the group's training and development manager.

The former Buckingham Palace butler said: "I'm chuffed t' bits, as we say in Yorkshire.

"I certainly wasn't ready to be washed up just yet," he added.

• More stories from Yorkshire

His sign, personally displayed at stations, read: "I would like to work...take a CV"

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March, Mr Walford received an email from his employer saying his job as a cruise ship restaurant manager had been closed.

He resorted to the unusual recruitment tactic at railways stations in and around Leeds after sending out 700 applications with little success.

His first job was at the palace when he was just 15 and he has a long career in hospitality working at hotels, including the Ritz.

Mr Campbell said: "Of course I empathised with Trevor's situation, but when we met him, his professionalism and wealth of knowledge across the industry is exactly what our operation needs."

Mr Walford is now to oversee the customer service training of more than 330 employees across 10 venues.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or send video here.