CARY Brock of Hatherleigh has received a prize of £100 for being selected as a finalist in the 1999 Training Achiever of the Year award.

The award is organised by skills development company PROSPER and Cary, 19, was one of ten finalists throughout Devon and Cornwall.

Despite leaving school with no academic qualifications because of dyslexia, Cary showed a determination which convinced Training South West, Exeter College's training arm, to accept him as a modern apprentice in vehicle body repair and subsequently nominate him for the award.

Employed by his father Richard Brock of Exbourne Garage, he gained NVQ Level 3 in vehicle body repair and is working towards Level 3 in refinishing.

Involved in his second year in a near fatal car accident in which he sustained severe head injuries, Cary underwent extensive plastic surgery to a shoulder and ear but bounced back to become Training South West's best student in his field.

Cary ensures customers' cars are returned with an outstanding finish and he now runs the whole body repair section.

He said: 'I was always good on the practical side and the apprenticeship helped me overcome my lack of GCSEs and become the best student although others were academically more able.'

Cary is also a keen squash player and plays the cornet in the award-winning Hatherleigh Silver Band.