A SPECIALIST recruitment consultant from Darlington has won a top business award at the Northern region final of this year's Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Angela Anderson, 28, of Brinkburn Drive, Darlington, won the award for growth potential, and £500 prize money, at a ceremony in Newcastle.

Ms Anderson's business, Zenith Recruitment, of Hebburn, specialises in recruiting temporary and permanent staff for engineering, manufacturing and distribution companies in the North of England and Scotland.

Ranging from forklift truck drivers to design engineers, and quality auditors to factory managers, she has about 500 personnel on her books.

In the 15 months since she set up the business, her client list has grown to 20, including Asda, Coca-Cola and Walkers.

Ms Anderson was working for an industrial recruitment agency when she decided to use her experience to start her own recruitment business to fill a gap in the engineering, manufacturing and distribution sectors.

She is on course to achieve a turnover of £1.5m next year.

Within three years, she plans to open two offices in Scotland and Yorkshire, creating more than a dozen jobs.

Other winners in the awards, supported by Business Link, One NorthEast and Yorkshire Forward, included Lee Sylph, 24, from Whitley Bay, who won the top prize of £1,000 and one of 11 places at the Shell LiveWIRE UK final in London, in June.

Her business, Amanda Lee, sells lingerie and swimwear, and provides a specialist service for women who have undergone breast surgery.

Aftab Ahmed, 31, and his brother, Afzaal, 30, from Newcastle won a £750 award for the Most Innovative Idea. Their business, Fixits, produces 3D children's puzzles.

Mike Harle, sales and marketing director for Shell Aviation, who presented the awards, said: "For Shell, the principles of sustainable development are fundamental to our future, and through the LiveWIRE programme we aim to encourage and nurture more young entrepreneurs to go further, faster and more sustainably."

Recent highlights have included managing shop-floor recruitment for a leading food packaging company, which has opened a facility in Scotland, and recruiting temporary staff for the Wakefield branch of a major supermarket chain.