AN apprentice scaffolder from the North-East is working on one of the world’s most famous bridges after joining one of the region’s industrial services firms.

Ryan Wade, who has been recruited by Gateshead-based Pyeroy to its apprenticeship scheme, has been seconded to work on London’s Tower Bridge.

The 21-year-old is part of a team erecting access scaffolding to enable workers to access the bridge during a multimillion pound refurbishment.

He is one of six young people from the region to join Pyeroy, as it looks to appoint apprentices to help meet demand for highly-skilled scaffolders.

The apprentices will work on various construction projects, including Northern Rock’s headquarters in Gosforth.

Practical experience will be supplemented by studies at Newcastle College where the trainees will be aiming to gain their Scaffolding Basic (Part 1 and Part 2) awards.

Pyeroy employs more than 300 scaffolders depending on workload and demand.

Mr Wade said: “Helping to put up the scaffolding on Tower Bridge has been very rewarding and something I’ll not forget.”