Cleaners are hoping for third time luck in a competition to find the most spotless hospital in the country.

Airedale Hospital domestic assistants have won through to the final of the Kimberley-Clark Golden Service Awards - the Oscars of the cleaning industry.

The 130 full and part-time staff at the Steeton hospital have reached the finals on three previous occasions and this year for the second year running.

Last year disappointment was even deeper when they lost in the final by just one point.

Heather Whitehead, Airedale's domestic services manager, said: "Last year, we were told we were practically the winners, but on the day we lost by just one point.

"We were terribly disappointed. We are trying not to build up too many hopes this year."

Staff have beaten off a challenge from hundreds of other heath care cleaners working for in-house organisations.

"It is a very challenging job keeping the hospital clean. Staff work extremely hard in the least appreciated job in the hospital," said Heather.

"People talk about how hard doctors and nurses work, but domestic staff are there all the time and they operate to very high standards.

"That's reflected in the number of letters of appreciation the chief executive gets from people," she added.

Judging took place on August 27, when competition officials inspected wards, the accident and emergency department, out-patients and reception. They also scrutinised the cleaning system, training arrangements, and spoke to domestic staff and other members of staff to get their opinion about the cleaning standards.

A competition spokesman said it was in its 13th year and this year had seen more entries from health care services then ever before.

It was designed to promote excellence in cleaning standards and the awards were now regarded as the 'Oscars' of the cleaning industry.

"Each year over 1,000 entry forms are requested by organisations large and small from all over the British Isles to enter the 14 sectors," he said. The finals are being held at London's Savoy on Friday November 1. The speaker will be soccer pundit Alan Hansen.