A teenager has earned a top apprentice award.

Sophie Milfull, learning her trade as a pipe fitter at Sellafield, has won the inaugural Apprentice Achievement Award from Amec Foster Wheeler.

The 18-year-old was presented with her trophy at a ceremony attended by fellow apprentices and senior managers.

She said: “Since I was little I’ve had motorbikes and I’ve never really been girly.

“When people told me that engineering wasn’t for me and I should become a hairdresser instead, it just made me want to do it even more, to prove everyone wrong.

“There are not many female pipe fitters.

“One of my lecturers at college said he had never seen one ever. But at Amec Foster Wheeler and at Sellafield nobody sees anything wrong with a girl doing it.”

Sophie, of Seascale, gained a BTEC level two in machining at Lakes College, Lillyhall, before joining Amec Foster Wheeler in September last year.

Her job mainly involves performing high-precision weld preparations on pipes in the firm’s workshops. Next year, she hopes to begin installation work on the Sellafield site.

Peter Stalker, vice president of Amec Foster Wheeler’s Clean Energy business, said: “Sophie is a worthy winner of the award and a great example of the talented young people who are developing their skills with us.

“More than 10 per cent of our 220 West Cumbrian employees are apprentices and we see our investment in them as part and parcel of our commitment to the area, where we have been operating for more than 50 years.”

She was presented with her award by Copeland MP Jamie Reed, who added: “I am delighted to see so many young people gaining valuable skills as apprentices at Amec Foster Wheeler.

“Investment in training is essential if West Cumbria is to seize the huge opportunities being created by the resurgence of the UK’s nuclear industry.”

The award will be presented annually to a West Cumbrian trainee who stands out for the quality of their work, attitude and commitment.