A LOCAL children’s entertainer is celebrating after clinching a place in the regional final of a competition to find the UK’s top party banana.

Mr Banana Head, aka Paul Albert, who lives in Park Street beat off rivals from hundreds of other local businesses for a place in the competition run by Britain’s largest parenting site Netmums.com.

Paul, who has two young daughters, started entertaining in 2011 and is the current Watford Association of Magicians’ Children’s Entertainer of the Year. He also recently returned from Blackpool where he competed in the final of the UK Children’s Entertainer of the Year competition.

Voting has recently opened in the poll on Netmums.com to find the overall Eastern area winner, with more than a million parents and childcarers who are members of the site eligible to take part.

Paul said: “I’m a local entertainer with Mango the Monkey for company so to be in with a chance to win a top national award is amazing. I work hard to provide the best party experience and memories for the children so I’d like to ask all the local mums and dads to get behind me, vote for me and help make me the Eastern winner.”

The national Netmums awards were set up to recognise the best firms in the growing children’s party market.

Voting closes on August 23 when the overall winner will be crowned the region’s best children’s party business. To vote click on the ‘Vote’ button on the Netmums Party Awards section.