A FORMER apprentice from Bromsgrove has demonstrated his engineering skills in a national competition.

Oliver Byrne participated in the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Restoration Competition, which took place at the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club, at Hunt House, in Northampton.

The Deansway resident competed with colleague Benjamin Hopkins. The pair have been restoring a 1962 Bentley Continental, and took their efforts to the competition, to be judged.

Although not winning, they were recognised for the hard work put in and awarded £1,000.

The 20-year-old is a former NEW college apprentice, where he did a full time course in motor vehicles. Through the course he was also able to secure an apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce and Bentley garage in Stoke Prior.

Oliver said: “It was a great experience and of course I would have loved to have finished first, but it’s a great achievement to have been recognised for the hard work I put in.”

He was also presented with certificates and a commemorative medal. One of the certificates was presented by Admiral Tim Lawrence, master coachmaker at the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers in London, and husband to Princess Anne.

Ian Pinder, the owner of the Stoke Prior-based garage, said: “I am so pleased that the restoration work achieved by Oliver has been recognised by the judging panel, I understand that the competition was to a high standard making it difficult for the judges to decide.”