AN ART student has drawn national attention to her work after being named one of the top young designers in the country.

Cleveland College of Art & Design student Helen Williams was presented with a certificate and cheque for £500 after being awarded first runner up prize at the British Interior Textiles Association (BITA) Emerging Talent Awards 2013.

The third year surface and textile design student, at the specialist art college in Hartlepool, had her work selected from hundreds of entries from across the UK in the competition set up to identify the most talented furnishing fabric designers in the country.

Miss Williams, 21, of Hartlepool, said: “My tutor Lianne Hubbart submitted my second year final project designs into the BITA awards but with so many designers across the country entering the competition I never expected anything to come of it.

“When I got the call saying that I’d come runner up I was totally overwhelmed. It’s a massive achievement for someone who is still a full time student especially as the overall competition winner was a professional design graduate.”

Inspired by graffiti art, Miss Williams’ designs, based on her favourite holiday destinations of New York and Paris, caught the eyes of the judges for their up to the minute imagery, colour and commercialism.

She added: “Part of the prize is for all the winning designs to be displayed at a range of BITA venues across the country so hundreds of people will get to see my work which is amazing.”