POOLE-based Lush has been named the UK’s best shop in a national survey.

The ethical cosmetics retailer received an 80 per cent customer score in the survey by Which?, edging John Lewis into second place on 79 per cent.

Lush customers described it as helpful and friendly with excellent products, while John Lewis gained praise for the ambience of its stores and "great quality" products.

Bottom of the table was electrical retailer EE, which came in at 100th place, with a score of 52 per cent.

Independent DIY and decorating shops finished third in the survey, 84 places higher than last year.

Which? editor Richard Headland said: "With independent stores on the up in our annual survey, it shows a big name isn't everything as consumers look for quality in both products and service.

"If retailers can get their products right, along with excellent customer service and a great shopping environment, customers will keep coming back through their doors."

Lush was founded in 1995 by Mark and Mo Constantine and opened its first shop in Poole. It has grown to more than 800 stores in 51 countries. The Constantines were recently ranked the UK's 28th richest husband-and-wife team in the Sunday Times Rich List.

The top five stores in the survey were: Lush (80 per cent), John Lewis (79 per cent), independents in DIY and decorating (76 per cent), Richer Sounds (75 per cent) and Screwfix (75 per cent). The bottom five were EE (52 per cent), WHSmith (54 per cent), Topshop/Topman (55 per cent), H&M (56 per cent) and BHS (56 per cent).

Which surveyed 9,409 members of the public online in February.

An EE spokeswoman said of its low ranking: "We're disappointed but also somewhat surprised by this report as we've made significant improvements to our stores in the past year.

"Notably, Which? has spoken to just a handful of people – we speak to tens of thousands of customers every week and they are telling us something very different. In fact, customer satisfaction has never been higher.”