A ROSSENDALE apprentice has been crowned the City and Guilds' Outstanding Achiever of the year.

Carpenter Peter Kernan, 20, of Park Road, Waterfoot has just completed his Level 3, City and Guilds Diploma in Wood Occupations Site.

At a special award ceremony this week at London's Roundhouse, Big Brother host George Lamb presented Peter with a prestigious City and Guilds' Lion Award.

Peter was one of just 11 students to pick up the coveted award, he said: "I am a complete devotee of the NVQ and totally committed to my training.

"Winning a Lion Award has really motivated me to keep working hard so that I can achieve the level of Master Craftsman."

Since finishing his Diploma at Accrington and Rossendale College, Peter has been accepted on to the Prince's Foundation to work alongside Master Craftsmen on historic buildings including Windsor Castle and York Minister as he works towards his Level 3 NVQ heritage work.

Peter first became interested in a career in the building industry after completing a summer job on a building site while at school.

The talented carpenter has also been participating in a number of national competitions and plans to represent England at the World Skills 2011 competition, where he will go head to head with talented tradesman from around the world.

City & Guilds is the UK's leading vocational education organisation, CEO and Director, Chris Jones said: "The City & Guilds Lion Awards are about recognising talent across the country and inspiring individuals to believe that they also can achieve their dreams.

"Skills are vital to the future of our economy and talented learners like tonight's winners represent the leaders of the future and role models for the generation of learners to come."