A 13-year-old from Crewe has made the final of a national driving competition, despite being four years away from taking to the road.

Jakob Hill entered the Young Driver Challenge 2017 at Manchester Metropolitan University, where his skills were assessed by a qualified driving instructor.

Sandbach School pupil Jakob beat hundreds of competitors to make the final 40, who will battle it out for the title of Britain’s best young driver at the NEC on September 30.

Jakob said: “I am so excited to have made the final of the Young Driver Challenge. I’ve been having lessons with Young Driver since I was 11, and I love being behind the wheel.

“It’s good fun, but I also feel like it’s giving me lots of extra time for practice before I take to the road for real. My favourite thing to do at Young Driver is the figure of eight.

“Making the Challenge final this year is a great confidence boost, I just hope I can keep calm and remember everything I’ve learnt – and enjoy it.”

Finalists will compete across two age categories, being scored by judges on a variety of skills similar to a driving test.

Prizes include pre and post-17 driving lessons.

Laura White, head of marketing at Young Driver, said: “Congratulations to Jakob. We look forward to seeing him at the final, which is the highlight of our calendar.

“The skills these youngsters show behind the wheel is extraordinary. They really would put some of the drivers out there on the roads to shame.

“Our aim at Young Driver has always been to create a safer next generation of youngsters on the road. The accident rate for newly qualified drivers is far, far too high and something needs to be done.”

Young Driver tuition is provided at more than 50 venues across the country, with almost 500,000 lessons have now been given.

See more at youngdriver.com, or call 0844 371 9010.