A YOUNG man has conquered his learning difficulties to win an award.

Chris Cartner, 23, of Northallerton, was presented with the Director's Award North-East for Outstanding Achievement at the recent YMCA Achiever of the Year ceremony.

Mr Cartner received the award after overcoming his learning difficulties and finding full-time employment with Tesco.

He was referred to the YMCA training centre in Richmond by his disability advisor.

Once there, his training advisor, Penny Sutton, said he remained focused throughout to complete a Level One NVQ in distributive operations.

Mr Cartner received the award from Lord Filkin, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families.

Lord Filkin said: "I am proud to be here to share this memorable occasion and I absolutely applaud the role of YMCA training in young people's lives."