YOUNGSTERS from Crawley have proved they can get to grips with the technical side of life.

Each year, members of Crawley Youth Club tackle a different model-building project and last year launched a radio-controlled boat.

This year they decided to up the ante and it paid off – in the form of two silver medals.

Around 20 youngsters, aged eight to 16-years-old, constructed a radio-controlled scale model of an original Thornycroft Horse Box.

They displayed it at the Model Engineer Exhibition at Sandown Park Racecourse earlier in December, where their skill was recognised by the judges.

They built the model under the guidance of Patrick Hendra, a retired professor at the University of Southampton, who said: “None of your plastic kits! Just a pile of wood and metal, some screws, glue and paint, plus some drawings.

“The other competitors were very experienced experts and came from all over the UK (two models even came from Italy) but the judges felt that the quality and workmanship were outstanding for folks so young,” he said.