Hugo's vs Ben's Gutters:
Which is best for Yorkshire?

Yorkshire's weather does gutters no favours. Between the persistent damp off the Pennines, the moss that colonises every north-facing roof tile, and the leaf fall that turns gutters into compost heaps by November, most homeowners in the region need at least one gutter clean a year — and often a roof treatment too. The problem is knowing who to trust.

Two names that come up consistently for homeowners across Yorkshire and East Lancashire are Hugo's Roof & Gutter Cleaning and Ben's Gutters Ltd. This page compares both honestly — pricing, coverage, trust signals, equipment, and the things that actually matter when someone is up a ladder at your property.

At a Glance: Side-by-Side

Hugo's is run by Richard out of Skipton, and the key word in that sentence is "by Richard." This is a sole trader operation — when you book a job, Richard is the person who shows up. Not a subcontractor, not whoever happens to be available that week. For homeowners who've had bad experiences with national companies where quality varies by postcode, that consistency matters.

The business covers a wide sweep of Yorkshire and East Lancashire: Skipton, Ilkley, Harrogate, Leeds, Bradford, York, Wakefield, Knaresborough, Keighley, Otley, Addingham, Silsden, Barnoldswick, Clitheroe, and Settle. That's a genuinely broad area for a sole trader, covering most of the towns where Pennine damp makes roof moss and blocked gutters a near-universal problem.

Gutter cleaning starts at £55 — and that's the price you pay. No VAT added on top. Roof cleaning starts at £4 per square metre. Free minor repairs are included in every job: if a bracket is loose or a joint needs resealing, Richard handles it without charging extra. Before and after photographs come with every job as standard — useful for your own records and for verifying work in areas of the roof you can't easily see yourself.

Roof cleaning is done by hand — manual moss scraping followed by biocide treatment, not pressure washing. This matters because pressure washing strips protective surfaces off tiles and forces water under flashings, particularly damaging on the older stone properties common across Yorkshire. The biocide approach kills moss at the root and prevents regrowth for years rather than just clearing the surface. Hugo's is IPAF certified for working at height and uses ground-based vacuum poles capable of reaching up to four storeys — meaning they can often work safely without ladders against your property at all.

Ben's Gutters Ltd is a national operation established in 2010, headquartered in Forest Row, East Sussex. With over 11,000 Trustpilot reviews at 4.8 stars, it has the most substantial public review record of any gutter cleaning company you'll find in a UK search — a genuine trust signal for customers who want volume validation before booking. Safe Contractor accreditation and ISO certification indicate a professionally run operation.

Geographic reach is Ben's biggest strength. They cover the entire UK including Scotland and Northern Ireland — useful for property owners who need work done in multiple regions and want to use a single company. Services include residential and commercial gutter cleaning, roof cleaning, and solar panel cleaning — the last of which Hugo's doesn't currently offer. If you have a solar array that needs attention alongside your gutters, Ben's is worth considering for that reason alone.

On pricing, Ben's advertises gutter cleaning from £67 — but that figure excludes VAT. Add the standard 20% and you're looking at a minimum of £80.40 for domestic customers who can't reclaim VAT. On a larger property where the quote is £120, you're paying £144 once VAT is added. That gap is worth factoring in when comparing quotes side by side.

The national model also means the operative who turns up is likely to be a local team or subcontractor rather than a Ben's employee. The 11,000-plus reviews suggest consistent results in the majority of cases, but it's a different experience from booking a sole trader where you know exactly who's coming and can speak to them directly — not through a call centre — if something isn't right.

Pricing Compared

Pricing is where the two companies differ most significantly — and the difference is bigger than the headline numbers suggest once VAT is factored in.

Several factors affect final pricing at both companies: number of storeys, linear footage of guttering, material (cast iron requires more care than uPVC), level of blockage, and for roof cleaning — pitch and surface area. Both offer free quotes before any work is committed to.

Coverage: Who Covers Where?

For Yorkshire and East Lancashire, both companies cover the same ground. The meaningful difference is outside the region — if you need work done elsewhere in the UK, Ben's is the only option of the two.

Which Should You Choose?

Frequently Asked Questions

Prices correct as of March 2026. All information sourced from company websites. This comparison is written by Hugo's Roof & Gutter Cleaning — hugos.org.uk.