A TOY shop worker who was excluded from school for truancy has excelled on an NVQ programme.

Mark Errington, who started a Life Skills programme after leaving school is starting on a second NVQ programme and has got a job at Lamb's Toy Shop in Darlington.

Before starting his Life Skills programme, at JHP Training, Darlington, he was shy and found interacting with others difficult.

Mark completed a work experience placement at the toy shop and spent a trial period there.

After that, he signed up on an NVQ training programme to complete his Level Two qualification in retail.

Since then, he has built up his confidence and has just been offered permanent employment at Lamb's.

A spokeswoman for JHP said he was eager to begin working on his second NVQ.

She said: "Mark Errington today is a completely different person to the young man who came to us just under a year ago.