THE winners of the Hexham Rotary Club Young Employee of the Year have been announced.

The competition was open to all employees between the ages of 16 and 25 working in the Tynedale area.

Employees must have been in post for a minimum of six months and not have been a previous winner of the awards.

Last week, an awards ceremony took place at the Beaumont Hotel.

Rebecca Dent (21), a student equine veterinary nurse at Scott Mitchell Veterinary Care, won first place and received the Jack Charlton Trophy to keep for one year and £500.

Rebecca, who joined the practice in September 2019, said she is grateful for the prize money which will allow her to travel for further training.

In second place was Antonia Azocar-Nevin, a graduate project worker at Hexham Youth Initiative. She received the JB Jonas Trophy and £250.

Erin Edwards, who works at Humshaugh & Wark Medical Group as a business and administrative apprentice, came third, winning £100.

Rotarian Rob Hart said: "The judging panel were particularly impressed by how confident and articulate the chosen finalists were as well as each demonstrating considerable knowledge and planning about their chosen career paths."

The competition, sponsored by The Reece Foundation and Hexham Town Council, is designed to encourage young people in Tynedale to learn and develop new skills and gain valuable work experience to contribute to the success of their company or organisation and to contribute to the successful development of the area.

Prize money must be spent on personal development including courses, books, materials, equipment, mentoring, coaching or visits to other firms to benchmark performance.