A bursary to help students embarking on a career in journalism has been awarded for the second time.

The £500 grant is made in memory of former Royston Crow editor Fred Sillence, who died in August 1999.

The award has gone to Catherine Bell, from Somersham, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, who started the one-year NCTJ course at Harlow College in Essex in September.

Mike Almond, managing editor for Herts and Essex at Mid-Anglia Newspapers, which publishes the Royston Crow, said: “Fred cared passionately about journalism. This bursary is our way of saying thank you for being an inspiration and for helping so many young people start their careers.”

Catherine, (18), said: “Being backed by Mid-Anglia Newspapers has given me a tremendous amount of self confidence, and I look forward to working with the team when I finish the course in May next year.

“Fingers crossed, you will be seeing my name in print a lot more in the future.”

Duncan Sandes, who won the inaugural Fred Sillence Bursary, joined Mid-Anglia Newspapers earlier this year after completing his course at Harlow and is now a trainee reporter with the Crow in Royston.