An Apprentice from the Grimsby Institute has won the national title of SkillPlumb Champion 2011, part of the International WorldSkills competitions.

24-year-old Tom King started his training with the Grimsby Institute’s Department of Plumbing two years ago as an Apprentice Plumber, having already completed an Apprenticeship in Joinery.

Tom displayed a natural aptitude for Plumbing and his tutor at that time, Jason Laycock, realised that Tom had a talent for the accuracy of his pipework, which he attributed partly to the ‘measure twice, cut once’ mentality of joiners.

The final took place at Leeds College of Building with the UK’s top 10 Apprentice Plumbers competing for the title of SkillPlumb Champion 2011.

Over the difficult and intense four-day challenge, Tom performed exceptionally well and was finally announced as the UK SkillPlumb Champion.

Tom will attend the WorldSkills events in London in October to receive his award, he said: “I really didn’t expect to win.  We were asked to spend the four days installing a bathroom suite which included the fitting of a couple of radiators, a basin, a shower, all of which was really difficult, especially the intricate pipe-work and the bends.

“I’m over the moon and to be honest really chuffed with myself, to win the national final is just an amazing feeling.”