The Journalism Diversity Fund is helping wannabe journalists to fulfil their dreams, editors have heard.

A total of 28 bursaries have been handed out in the past two years to people who might not otherwise have had access to training.

They have helped people such as Christina Michael, a single mother of three, and Nigerian-born kidney transplant patient Belinda Otakponmwenhi.

The pair were among 18 bursary winners who attended a celebratory lunch hosted by Pearson at its headquarters in London.

They were joined by editors, NCTJ tutors and representatives from some of the fund's financial sponsors which include Associated Newspapers, Guardian Media Group, News International and Pearson.

The initiative also received a further boost at the lunch when David Pugh, the new managing director of the Newspaper Licensing Agency, presented the fund with a cheque for £81,000.

Kim Fletcher, chairman of the National Council for the Training of Journalists, which manages the fund, told the audience of the huge progress made by the initiative since a number of editors got together three years ago to discuss ways of encouraging more ethnic and social diversity among those applying for newsroom jobs.

He said: “The calibre of applicants is high so we know we’re marketing the fund to the right people in the right way.

"Our aim was to broaden the base where journalists come from and we’re certainly achieving this.

"Everyone involved can see the potential not only of the initiative but of the recipients too.”

Christina will use her bursary to study for her NCTJ exams at Kingston University, while Belinda studied at noSWeat Journalism Training in London.

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