Wilkins Chimney Sweep

Wilkins Chimney Sweep was established in 1895 by Tom Wilkins in Newbury and has been sweeping chimneys for more than 120 years. The business is a franchised company that was sold to Peter Harris in 1998; in 2011, Peter and his wife Louise franchised it to expand nationwide, and in 2018, Darren Taylor became Managing Director. Nick Frost is the local chimney sweep in Worthing, Brighton and surrounding areas, having been taught by his father, Mark Frost, a recently retired Worthing chimney sweep. Nick Frost is a fully trained professional sweep with many years of experience and has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by ThreeBestRated.

The service area covers an arc of approximately 15 miles from Worthing, including Brighton & Hove to the east and Littlehampton to the west, as well as villages and small towns on the north side of the Downs such as Storrington, Steyning, Hassocks, and Arundel. Sweeps are fully insured with public liability and professional indemnity insurance, have undergone a full police check, and are trained on interacting with people who have dementia or disabilities. Each sweep is covered by a minimum of £2m public liability insurance, and sweeps arrive in a branded uniform and fully liveried van. The company uses a special process to protect carpets and floors and operates to the practices laid out by HETAS; chimney sweeps holding HETAS Approved Chimney Sweep registration have been trained and taken an exam of competence.

The company offers a full range of chimney sweeping services from open fires, Agas and wood burners to the supply and fitting of cowls and caps, and the diagnosis of chimney problems, as well as cage, cap and cowl fitting, removing bird’s nests, and a CCTV survey service in some areas. It is fully trained and insured for services including Cages, Caps & Cowls, Carbon Monoxide Alarms, Other sweepable flues, AGAs, Rayburns, Open fires, Wood burning stoves, Nest & Blockage Removal, and Jetmasters. The company works alongside tenants, landlords and homeowners, and its client base includes period cottages, regency property, inter-war development, flats, and short-term lets.

Chimney sweeping, together with the inspection of flues and multifuel stoves, runs through the feedback for this Brighton and Hove firm, and Nicholas is named time and again as the technician who does the work. Customers describe a punctual arrival inside the agreed window, a polite and professional manner, and a respectful approach to the home. Tidiness is a point that comes up often: sitting rooms and front rooms are said to be left as clean as they were found, with no dust or mess reported afterwards.

Advice on the state of a chimney or stove, and reassuring feedback once the sweep is complete, feature in several accounts, as does the certificate confirming the work. Reviews time and again mention efficiency, covering both the speed of the visit and the quick response when a problem is reported, and the booking reminders that help them secure a cheaper early clean. Many have returned annually for years, describing a service that runs smoothly from the first call through to the finished sweep, and often noting how friendly the sweep is. Regulars remark that a recommendation first brought them in and that they have stayed since.