BRIGHT young sparks have showed off their design and construction skills.

Dozens of GCSE students took part in the contest to find the best young engineers in Derwentside, County Durham.

The 15 and 16-year-olds were told to build a working turbine and a buggy to carry it.

The competition, organised by Derwentside Engineering Forum, aimed to boost youngsters' interest in engineering as a career.

John Hodgson, forum director, said: "This region has a rich engineering heritage and engineers from the North-East have made many lasting contributions to our way of life, and the success of the country as a whole.

"We must make sure that these skills do not die out.

"We need more initiatives like this that can play a big role in developing and maintaining interest among students at a crucial age, when they are beginning to think seriously about careers."

Each school taking part was paired with a local engineering company.

The students carried out research and development to come up with the best design and then built a model.

They also had to build a buggy capable of transporting the turbine.

The winning school was Tanfield, near Stanley, which worked in partnership with Protocol Engineering and the HMH Group.

They impressed the judges by developing a turbine capable of generating 11 volts of electricity.

Austin McNamara, executive director of the County Durham Learning and Skills Council, presented the youngsters with their award.

Following the success of this year's event, funding has been secured from the Single Regeneration Budget to run the competition for the next three years.

Next year's event will focus on electronics and robotics.