THE only way is up for a teenager who has gained his pilot's licence aged only 16.

Sixth-former Daniel Swaddle is too young to hold a driving licence, but has passed his first set of pilot's exams and will sit his final tests on Thursday.

If successful, he will be given his full licence on his 17th birthday -April 16.

He will be one of the youngest people in the country to earn their pilot's licence.

He said: "I cannot wait. As soon as I made my first flight, I was completely hooked. It is just such an amazing feeling."

Daniel, who is studying A-levels in information technology, business studies and general studies at St Benet Biscop School, in Bedlington, Northumberland, has a queue of friends and family waiting to be his first passenger.

He said: "I can make solo flights at the moment and take people up if I have got an instructor with me, but I will be able to take passengers out by myself when I turn 17.

"My mates are all dying for me to take them up."

Daniel, who lives with his mother and father, Judith, a shop supervisor, and Paul, a former policeman, and eight-year-old brother, Matthew, in Blyth, Northumberland, hopes to become a commercial pilot..