A LOCAL company is celebrating some of its engineers marking a huge achievement.

Gilkes engineers Richard Hogg, Abigail Stephenson, Kristian Thompson and Michael Byram have achieved First Class Honours Degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Bolton University.

All four engineers started their careers with Gilkes through the apprenticeship scheme, giving them the opportunity to mix academic study with practical work.

Abigail Stephenson said: “I am absolutely over the moon to have achieved a B.Eng (Hons), and I am so grateful for the opportunity from Gilkes to progress my career in this way."

Michael Byram said: “University and my job at Gilkes complemented each other perfectly, having already worked at Gilkes for four years before starting the degree, I had practical experiences that a normal university student would not have."