A BUDDING engineer who was inspired to follow in his family's footsteps has impressed bosses at Network Warrington.

Ben Harper, 18, is hoping to make his engineer father and grandfather proud after being chosen as the bus company's first apprentice.

And he has already wowed the team with his skills and enthusiasm.

Ste Stringer from the organisation said: “Ben has joined the company at a time when young, hungry and talented engineers are hard to come by.

“His main duty at the moment is learning from our current engineering team about all aspects of repairing a public service vehicle.

"People often don’t see the amount of preparation and elbow grease required to maintain our buses behind the scenes but Ben, alongside our engineering experts, has been a valuable asset to ensuring our buses are fit for the road.

“Network Warrington see the investment in training up the next generation as vital for the future of the business, but also for the community.

“I’ve been impressed with Ben’s knowledge and attitude to the job since joining us. He’s doing his family proud and we’re very lucky to have him."

The youngster will now begin a three year engineering course at Manchester College as part of his training to help him land his dream job.