A FORMER professional footballer who swapped careers for civil engineering has been recognised as being at the top of his game.

Rob Herbert, 26, from Durham City, has been named the North-East’s trainee of the year and trainee civil engineer of the year in the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (NE) annual awards.

A former youth player with Sunderland, he later played professionally for Halifax Town, but decided to plan a steadier career when his club were relegated to the Football Conference.

He is now a site engineer in his fourth year of training with construction company Volker Stevin, in Gateshead.

Because of his earlier career he came into the industry later than many but got his HNC in civil engineering two years earlier than expected.

He is working on the Smiths Dock reclamation at North Shields, North Tyneside, having previously worked on a Northumbria University footbridge, in Newcastle, and a tidal defence scheme on the river Trent.

Mr Herbert said: “One of my main hopes is to see greater recognition of civil engineering as a profession, and in line with other European countries where civil engineers have similar professional status to doctors and lawyers.”

Ben Luther, 21, of Newcastle, who is based with Classic Masonry at North Shields, won apprentice of the year and Dan Davison, 24, of Ponteland, training with Balfour Beatty in Newcastle, was named most promising trainee quantity surveyor.

Douglas Kell, director of CECA (NE) said: “The standards these young men are setting speak volumes for our industry.”