The Stoke Sentinel's crime reporter, Samantha Lawton has won a national award for her work.

She was named Student Journalist of the Year in awards sponsored by Press Gazette, after completing her journalism studies at Wolverhampton College by studying one day a week.

In a double coup, she was also named Student News Writer of the Year.

She said: "I'm thrilled to bits. It is a bit unexpected. Not only to win one award, but to win overall Journalist of the Year is just great.

"I wasn't expecting to win because I was up against such talented people from around the country."

More than 300 entrants contested the awards, which were open to all students who had previously enrolled on journalism courses across Britain.

Her entry included a series of stories on the compensation battle fought by miners who contracted lung disease from working in the pits.

Other winners were:

• Student Feature Writer of the Year: Olav Bjortomt, Nottingham Trent University
• Student Scoop of the Year: Karen Barichievy, Trinity Mirror Training
• Student Interviewer of the Year: Dolly Dhingra, NoSweat Journalism Training
• Student Radio Journalist of the Year: Shourjo Sarkar, Trinity and All Saints College
• Student Television Journalist of the Year: Abigail Neal, Cardiff University
• Student Online Journalist of the Year: Jamie Baldwin, Nottingham Trent University
• Student Photographer of the Year: Katherine Batchelor, Sheffield College
• Student Team of the Year: Unspun, Cardiff University.

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