A COUNCIL apprentice has landed her dream job job as a football coach in Los Angeles.

Saskia Russell, 20, from Skelton, East Cleveland, worked as a coach core apprentice with Redcar & Cleveland council for a year, gaining experience in coaching development.

Now she has secured a job as a coach in LA and will be working at a number of local football teams throughout spring and travelling to different coaching camps during the summer.

She said: “I’m really excited to go over to America as I’ve always had a massive passion for sport and especially football."

The news came as councillors were given an update on their apprentice scheme.

The council has beaten its government-set target for employing apprentices for the second year in a row.

The authority must currently employ 74 apprentices every year but employed 93 apprentices in 2017/18 in an area blighted by job losses in recent years. It has already beaten the target this year, with official figures set to be announced on 31 March.