Heating engineer Victoria Hardy has been named as the top apprentice in Yorkshire and Humberside.

The 21-year-old beat off 1,300 other hopefuls for the prestigious title and was the only woman out of nine finalists.

Now she goes forward to the national finals of the JTL Best Apprentice Awards at the Tower of London in February.

Miss Hardy, of Clayton Terrace, Cullingworth, works at Airedale Hospital as part of Airedale NHS Trust’s maintenance team.

She originally wanted to be a primary school teacher.

“But when I told careers advice I wanted a manual hands-on job they suggested this instead,” she said.

The former Thornton Grammar School pupil said she had managed to fit a four-year apprenticeship into three years.

She said: “I love my job. People still look a bit startled when they see me doing what I do and still think it’s a man’s world but slowly we’re changing that.”

She works with just one other woman engineer at the hospital, who is part-time.

Her title as Yorkshire & Humberside’s Best Apprentice was announced at a glitzy ceremony at the Royal Armouries in Leeds and has won her a trophy and a £700 cheque.

The awards are organised by JTL, the leading training provider to the building services engineering sector.

Her regional heat saw apprentices from all trades including plumbing, electrical, engineering maintenance and heating and ventilation, competing against her.

JTL training officer Reg Normington said: “Congratulations to Victoria and her employers at Airedale NHS Trust. This achievement places her in the top one per cent of JTL apprentices in England and Wales.

“These regional awards celebrate the achievements of apprentices, their colleges and employers who are providing vital skills for the future despite the difficult economic climate.

“An Advanced Apprenticeship is an arduous journey and the achievement and hard work of young people in industry often goes unreported and unrecognised.”