Two welding students from west Cumbria will represent the UK in the trade at an event next month.

Morgan Roberts and Danny Hills, who attend Lakes College at Lillyhall, competed in the WorldSkills UK qualifiers last year, then went on to win a silver medal and a highly commended award at the WorldSkills UK National Finals in Birmingham.

The pair, along with other members of the UK squad, will take part in a five-day event which will simulate a real competition.

One of the welders taking part will go on to be recommended to compete at the EuroSkills welding competition in Graz, Austria later this year, which consists of 19 hours of welding to a competition standard.

The chosen welder will then take part in four 'boot camps', consisting of productivity training, performance coaching, performance psychology and physiological well-being.

Clive Bell, welding lecturer at Lakes College and WorldSkills UK training manager, said: “The lads from Lakes College have shown that they are capable of competing at a high level with their impressive results from the UK finals.

"I am thrilled that they have been selected to represent the UK in the welding skill, and look forward to seeing how they manage under the pressure of the mock competition.”

Danny added: “The WorldSkills UK national finals were such an incredible experience and I am excited to think that I could potentially be travelling to Austria to compete again.

I want to wish the best of luck to everyone and may the best welder win!"