A COLLEGE student has won praise for a video depicting the last hours of one of Britain's most infamous killers.

No Remorse, by Darlington College student Madeleine Blagden, charts the final moments of Ruth Ellis before she became the country's last female prisoner to go to the gallows.

Ellis was convicted and hanged in 1955 for the murder of former boyfriend David Blakely, a violent man who had abused her and caused the death of her unborn child.

Madeleine, 19, of Northallerton, researched the story and discovered there was no record of her final moments as she sat in a holding room before she was hanged.

She wrote, filmed and directed a five-minute video reconstructing Ellis's final minutes. "It was fascinating to research, and sparked an interesting debate among friends as to whether Ellis was victim or villain," said Madeleine.

"It was amazing how many people suddenly changed their views when they heard about her losing the baby."

Her efforts earned her a distinction on her Btec national diploma in the moving image, while other work has won her national acclaim.

Her tutor, John Gibb, said: "Her Ruth Ellis video was certainly worth a distinction.

"A separate piece of work -an assignment in the corporate and promotional video unit, in which she produced an excellent programme for her local church in Northallerton -was called in by the external verifier and her log-sheets and storyboards hailed as the best he had ever seen and an example of the standards needed to qualify for a distinction.

"I was really impressed with her work and felt it merited the top mark, but to have this endorsed by a national verifier is quite something."

Madeleine will start a media and cultural studies degree next month and hopes to one day work in advertising production