A journalism student who set up his own rugby league news website has won an award from a regional daily.

The Yorkshire Evening Post has honoured Sam Charlton with its prize for local digital journalism for his website Leeds Rhinos Newsroom.

The prize was created by Leeds Trinity University lecturer Dr Rebecca Whittington and the YEP to boost interest in local news and encourage students to network and learn from industry professionals.

Sam, 23, recently graduated with a first class degree in sports journalism from Leeds Trinity.

Sam, pictured, told the YEP: “I’m delighted to have won this prize for my work on Leeds Rhinos Newsroom.

“As a big rugby league and Leeds Rhinos fan who had previously covered the sport for work, I immediately knew that I wanted to centre my website around the club when the project was set for us.

“It’s a subject matter that I’m passionate about so I thoroughly enjoyed working on this platform, watching the site grow and developing an audience over the months.

Sam added: “I found out I had won just a few hours after learning I had achieved a first class degree in sports journalism, so it was all very exciting and a great end to my time at Leeds Trinity University.

“It gives me confidence in the work I can produce and is a timely boost as I leave University and head off into the world of work.”

Joe Cooper, a member of the judging panel and Audience Specialist at the YEP, said: “I was so impressed by the quality of work submitted by Leeds Trinity University students.

“The pace of change in digital journalism is incredibly fast, but these students have shown they’re up to the job. It was a really tough call to choose the winner, but Sam Charlton really stood out.

“His project was very high quality, had good social media engagement and he knew exactly what his audience wanted and how to speak to them.”

Joe added: “As a former Leeds Trinity student, it’s fantastic to see the University helping to nurture digital journalists who I know will be stars of the future.”