A new mother has praised her "supportive" employer after it won an award for being family-friendly.

Hannah Fender, who is on maternity leave after her son Logan was born, said Southdown Housing Association was incredibly supportive of parents.

The Lewes-based organisation was in a list of top 10 employers for working families.

It is the fifth consecutive year it has been praised by Working Families which runs the awards. Companies are not ranked, but listed in a top 30 from across the country.

The 28-year-old, of Seaford, said: "I’ve felt thoroughly supported by Southdown both leading up to and on commencing my maternity leave.

"My manager has kept in regular contact and I recently attended a team meeting with my baby.

"This has been really beneficial and helped me feel supported and still part of the team.

"I know that I will be able to discuss freely how I can balance my work with childcare and being a new mum and find a solution that works for me and my team.

"The good thing is that I can see other parents and carers working at Southdown in all sorts of jobs who have changed working patterns and work flexibly depending on their circumstances, which of course evolve and change.

"It’s normal at Southdown and that’s really reassuring."

Southdown deputy chief executive Vikki Hayward-Cripps said: "Being a family-friendly employer is an important part of our culture as it has helped not only attract but also retain good staff."

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, called for flexibility to become part of ‘business as usual’ with companies.