TWO Gateshead sisters are celebrating double family success after winning top jobs on the same day.

Claire Horrill, 20, and Nicola Horrill, 17, from Crawcrook in Gateshead, thought they had lost out on the chance of a successful career after flitting from job to job since leaving school. They had tried many jobs - from waitressing to shop assistance but neither found a vocation that suited their needs.

Claire decided it was time to think seriously about a long-term career so enrolled with training provider Access Training to start an apprenticeship in business administration. She enjoyed the training so much that she recommended Nicola should enrol on the course too.

The girls were placed with employers within a couple of weeks and astounded by the amazing co-incidence that they were both offered permanent positions on the same day after a three-month trial with different companies.

Claire, who works as a trainee personal assistant to the directors at Benfield Motors, is overjoyed: "I had always wanted to be a secretary but ended up doing jobs that I hated. So I went to Access and they found me my job at Benfield which is going really well. I'm getting training which will help me progress.

"It was a double surprise when I found out Nicola had been taken on by her employers as well," she said.

Nicola works in customer service at Freedom Direct.

Training manager Julie Reay said: "We were astonished when we found out both sisters had been offered a job within hours of each other. They both deserve a bit of good fortune. They are now on the right track after starting Modern Apprenticeships in Business Administration."