APPRENTICE Ben Alderson is celebrating after collecting a top prize for his welding abilities.
The 21-year-old Darlington College of Technology student has won the Best City and Guilds Welding and Fabrication Award.
Mr Alderson, of Bolam, near Darlington, said he was especially pleased to receive the honour after facing stiff competition from students across the Tees Valley.
His engineering tutor, Paul Brennan, said: "He is an excellent student and this latest prize is one of string of personal triumphs he has achieved."
Mr Alderson, who works for Hathaway Roofing, in Tindale Crescent, Bishop Auckland, has also been made a Tees Valley Champion Modern Apprentice - a role model for other youngsters.
He was presented with his latest award, a certificate and £25 cheque, at the annual dinner of the Teesside branch of the Welding and Joining Society, in Stockton.
It was the seventh time a student from Darlington College has picked up the prize since 1994.
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