A STUDENT who discovered his interest in engineering by playing with Meccano as a child has won a £12,000 bursary to pay for a Masters' degree.

Jordan Marsh, 19, along with Gareth Sloane, 20, were named as winners of the Encouraging Engineering award, which is backed North-East companies Cummins Engines, CTC Marine, Mech Tool, and Henry Williams.

The pair, who are studying a Level 3 extended diploma in engineering at Darlington College, pitched their proposals to a panel of experts in a gruelling interview to secure the top prizes.

Jordan, from Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond, had designed a portable charge mat for phones and other small gadgets using batteries and wireless technology.

"I have always been interested in engineering," he said. "I remember playing with my granddad's Meccano set when I was a child and have always been fascinated by induction and power.

"I had hoped to work one day in the automotive world designing cars but can now see that mechanical engineering is much wider and more varied."

Gareth, from Newton Aycliffe, perfected a design for an eco-exercise bike which would use the kinetic energy of the pedals to power the information and entertainment displays, including the TV.

"The Btec course was brilliant because the Darlington College tutors have such a lot of experience outside teaching in industry and what we learnt was so relevant to the real world," he said.

Darlington College tutor Rob Elliott said: "To get two winners out of nine shortlisted for the award really is impressive.

"The project is about so much more than the money as it offers the students the chance to work with some of the best engineering companies in the world, who are very keen to develop local talent to fill a widening skills gap in the industry."