A CREWE teenager is celebrating this week after beating hundreds of others from across the country to be crowned one of the UK's best young drivers – before he is even old enough to officially drive.

Liam Wainwright, 15, from Wistaston, finished fifth in his age category (14-16) at the national finals of the 2014 Young Driver Challenge, held at the Birmingham NEC on Saturday, September 13.

More than 350 young people entered the competition, organised by Young Driver, the UK’s largest provider of driving tuition for under-17s, and Liam was among the 40 who made it to the final of the contest, which was open to those aged between 11 and 16.

As well as being marked on their practical driving skills behind the wheel of a dual-control SKODA Citigo at one of Young Driver’s 33 venues, the entrants were also judged on their performance in the Goodyear Driving Academy, an online driving simulator which tests a youngsters’ knowledge of the Highway Code.

Judges at the final included representatives from the Institute of Advanced Motorists and Goodyear, along with specialist former police driving instructor Gary White, and several highly qualified driving instructors.

Liam, who attends Kings Grove High School, said: "It was an amazing feeling when they announced I had finished fifth place in the 14-16 age category. There were a lot of challenging tests and we knew the judges were marking us based on many different driving skills and manoeuvres.

"We had to show how well we could do things like parallel parking, reversing, tight steering, emergency stops and turns in the road, as well as undertake independent driving. It was nerve-wracking, but it was an amazing experience."

For placing fifth in his age category, Liam won a medal, goody bag and vouchers for a free young driver lesson.