A talented young welder at has been selected as one of ten finalists of a national welding skills competition.

James Simpson, who works at Metalcraft in Chatteris, will compete in the final of SkillWeld 2014 at the NEC in Birmingham next month.

The 19 year old former Cromwell Community College student is in his third year at Metalcraft and is studying engineering at The College of West Anglia Isle campus.

Mr Simpson said: “When I saw the apprenticeship at Metalcraft, I knew they were a big company and I knew they had a lot to offer, so I was delighted when I was given the role and put forward to enter SkillWeld 2014.”

Metalcraft’s managing director, Austen Adams said: “This is a tremendous achievement and we’re very proud of James.

“We’re committed to giving young people the skills, experience and qualifications they need to thrive and innovate in a fast-changing world and it’s great to see one of our apprentices embracing this opportunity and having such success.”