AN east Cleveland graduate is celebrating a first class honours degree, an academic prize and a job with a local technology firm.

Paul Barnett, 22, from New Marske, gained a BSc (Hons) Software Engineering degree from the University of Teesside and received the British Telecom Technologies Exact Prize in recognition of his outstanding skills in software engineering.

He is now employed by Serco Technology, in Guisborough.

He said: "As I lived locally, I knew the university had a good reputation in computer studies and I was really impressed with the facilities. The course has been extremely relevant for my new job and I feel very confident for the future."