A EDUCATIONAL support officer has graduated from the University of Teesside after taking his own advice.

Jason Abbott, 24, of Vancouver Street, Darlington, has completed an honours degree in marketing.

"People used to ask me about whether they had to pay the full £1,000 tuition fee and how to go about getting a loan" said Mr Abbott.

"In most cases there was quite a bit of help available and eventually I thought why don't I get a higher education qualification myself?"

As well as gaining a 2:1 BA honours degree, he was awarded the Teesside Business School prize at the graduation ceremony.

Mr Abbott scored the highest undergraduate dissertation mark in the faculty, for his study on strategic market planning.

He said: "Winning the prize was a real plus. I was extremely proud and it made all the hard work seem worthwhile."

While working for the Department of Education in Darlington, Mr Abbott studied as a part-time student for an HNC in Business Studies at Bishop Auckland College before getting on to the second year of the marketing degree at the University of Teesside.

He works for Talk Marketing, on the university campus in Middlesbrough.