A MAJOR Darlington employer has honoured one of its apprentices with a new annual award inspired by a longstanding worker.

Michael Spence, 19, has been recognised with a trophy and £100 for his work with Cleveland Bridge UK, who are based on Yarm Road.

The award was inspired by former employee Ron Maddison, a Training School Manager, who supervised approximately 700 apprentices in his 51 years at the company.

Mr Spence, who lives in Darlington, said: “I am so proud to have won an award that’s in memory of a celebrated training manager and hope that I can continue to further myself and leave a lasting impression in my career.

“Cleveland Bridge has a great apprenticeship programme filled with variety and we have our supervisors to thank for the huge amount of support that they give us.

Ron’s son, Ken Maddison, said: “My dad would be very proud that the value of good apprentices is still at the core of what Cleveland Bridge do.

“The family are delighted to support this great initiative and wish Michael and all the apprentices good luck in their future careers.”