INTERNET entrepreneur Gill Chapple, the brains behind an accommodation booking website, has scooped a coveted award.
She won the Young Entrepreneur category at the NatWest Everywoman Awards.
The 25-year-old, from Darlington, beat off competition from hundreds of other entrants to take the accolade, sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Ms Chapple was presented with the award by Nigel Griffiths, the Minister for Small Business and Enterprise, at a ceremony in London.
She set up her Bedsearcher site in May 2002, despite her youth and lack of experience stopping her securing a loan for the project.
The business now has a turnover of more than £1.5m and Ms Chapple has plans to expand it further.
She said: "I am delighted to receive this award and am especially pleased at the recognition it brings to the North-East. The North-East is too often regarded as a backwater for technology companies and we must work to change this."
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