AT a time when unemployment is on the rise, one young man from Huntingdon has bucked the trend.

Gary Dickinson, 22, of Thames Road, spent four years on an apprenticeship with electrical engineering company Playfords, based in Cottenham, and is now working for them permanently.

As a result he was named a runner-up in a competition organised by apprenticeship training charity JTL to find the nation’s best apprentice.

“I worked really hard over the past four years but I’ve learned so much and I can’t imagine doing anything different,” he told The Hunts Post.

“I’m really proud my achievements have been recognised – it’s the icing on the cake.”

Mr Dickinson was presented with a plaque and a cheque for �300 at an awards ceremony at Banqueting House, London.