A TALENTED young hairdresser won gold at the recent Skills Show in Birmingham.

Sophie Leanna Appleton-Hendy, of West Shore in Llandudno, took part in the three-day interactive event organised by WorldSkills UK at the NEC.

Almost 500 young apprentices, exponents of 55 disciplines - as diverse as aircraft maintenance to 3D game design, cabinet making, plumbing to beauty therapy and cyber security - took part in the national finals.

Sophie, aged 21 who works at Tommy’s Hair Company in Craig-y-Don, was “over the moon” that she achieved gold.

She said: “We had to do five different tasks over three days, various things from barbering to doll hair.

“I didn't expect to win – it meant so much to me.

“I went down on the Wednesday and the event was over Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was quite intense. Two tasks a day and one on the Saturday.”

Sophie has worked at Tommy’s for three and a half years.

Dr Neil Bentley, chief executive officer of WorldSkills UK, said: “This has been a wonderful showcase for UK skills.

“The competition was fierce and the standards very high – all the finalists have done brilliantly well just to get this far.”

Many of the winners now have the opportunity to go forward and be considered for Team UK selection and represent his/her country in forthcoming international finals in Budapest and Kazan in Russia.