ALAN Brown, who last month was named North-East regional winner of the Library Association and learndirect E-Learning Community Prize, has now scooped second spot in the national final for the award.

The prize recognises and rewards learners aged 16 and over who have used computers to learn skills at a library or information centre and have used them to benefit their community.

Mr Brown, a regular visitor to the Open Technology Centre (OTC) in Stockton's Central Library, has been a worthy star of this year's show for he is deaf and blind. He also has physical disabilities, and treatment in his youth interrupted his formal education.

Despite only starting to use computers a year-and-a-half ago, the 55-year-old has since developed his skills to such an extent he has started a chess column in Deafblind UK's quarterly magazine, Rainbow, so other deaf-blind people can be introduced to the game.

Unfortunately, Mr Brown was unable to travel to London to collect his award, but it was picked up on his behalf by OTC manager Christine Durnion and Anne Tingle, OTC assistant.