A FORMER Harrogate student is riding high after winning a national competition to find the Young Engineer for Britain.

Louise Elliott, 18, a former pupil of St Aidan's and St John Fisher sixth-form, impressed Engineering Council judges at the Millennium Dome with The Bug - an outdoor buggy for a friend with cerebral palsy.

Louise won total prize money of £4,000, a trophy, a visit to Shell UK Exploration and Production and a day with the Royal Engineers. Her school also received a trophy and £3,000 to buy engineering teaching equipment.

Louise, who is now studying at Leeds College of Art and Design, said: "Winning the competition was absolutely amazing. I was completely shocked, but it was brilliant to get recognition for all my hard work.