A TROPHY dedicated to the memory of a leading aerobatics pilot has been awarded to a pilot from the region.

Tom Cassells, of Boroughbridge, won the Daily Telegraph Neil Williams Memorial Trophy flying his CAP-232 at the National Aerobatics Championships.

The 3ft trophy was donated by the Daily Telegraph in memory of the world's leading aerobatics pilot for many years, Neil Williams, who died in a plane crash in 1977.

Mr Cassells, the managing director of Reed Boardall Transport, is delighted at his success.

He said: "I have been trying to win this trophy for ten years and I am over the moon to have finally succeeded.

"It's been an excellent year for me: I came 15th at the 2002 European Championships where I competed against pilots who, unlike me, fly as a full-time job."