Two Sellafield trainees have swept to victory in a prestigious national skills awards.

Daniel Hagan, of Egremont, and Aidan Bennett, of Maryport, scooped the prizes in the UK Nuclear Skills Awards in Manchester last night.

Daniel won scientific apprentice of the year and Aidan was named manufacturing apprentice of the year.

The pair were handed their prizes by TV star Julia Bradbury.

Hosted by the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN), the event shines a spotlight on the nuclear professionals of the future.

Daniel, 26, said: “My training experience with Sellafield has been excellent, I’ve had the opportunity to work in different environments around the many facilities so its given me a good grounding for my career.

“I hope to use the publicity generated by receiving this award to help promote the wide range of careers offered by the nuclear industry.”

Sellafield Ltd currently has 550 apprentices on its books and 322 employees in higher education.

Les Studholme, head of training, said; “We are hugely proud of the calibre of trainees we have at Sellafield Ltd.

“Young people like Aidan and Daniel will be driving forward the decommissioning programme at Sellafield for many years to come, they are great ambassadors for the company and for the nuclear industry.

“These awards demonstrate the huge opportunities on offer for young people at Sellafield and the value we place on high quality training and development.”