A FASHION-conscious man from St Albans has been crowned the UK s Most Stylish Husband. Richard Thrift, of Inkerman Road, was voted the winner of the award in the Husband of the Year Competition run by Eve Magazine and Nivea for Men. The 30-year-old was no

A FASHION-conscious man from St Albans has been crowned the UK's Most Stylish Husband.

Richard Thrift, of Inkerman Road, was voted the winner of the award in the Husband of the Year Competition run by Eve Magazine and Nivea for Men.

The 30-year-old was nominated for the award by his wife of four years, Claire, and was voted the winner by magazine readers.

It was Richard's fashion sense which first caught Claire's eye five years ago.

She said: "I wasn't particularly into fashion at the time but he put a lot of effort into his style and always looked great. It definitely made me up my game a bit."

Speaking about nominating her husband, Claire, aged 29, said: "Richard was turning 30 and wondering what a 30-year-old man should look like so I wanted to do something to reassure him that I love the way he looks. He has quite an eclectic style but looks just as great in a t-shirt as he does in a suit."

The winners from the five categories of the competition were invited to London for the final where they met the judging panel including TV presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his wife Jackie.

Richard, who works in advertising, said: "I had a nervous breakdown trying to decide what to wear for the shoot. I knew everyone would be eyeing up my clothes. In the end I went for Diesel jeans, a black cardigan and a beanie."

Richard proposed to Claire just 10 weeks into the relationship when he asked her to stay at his and she was concerned about not having a hair dryer there.

He offered to buy her one but then asked her to move in and marry him.

Claire said she was so shocked that she choked and sprayed cheesecake all over her husband-to-be.

The couple's priorities are now starting to shift from Prada to Pampers as they will soon be having their first child.

Claire said: "Our baby's due in October and we thought this would be our last chance to get some great pictures of us before we're covered in baby sick and have huge dark circles.