A CABINETMAKER trained in Staveley has brought home a bronze medal from the 'Skills Olympics' after a 'stressful' four days in Abu Dhabi.

Angus Bruce-Gardner, 22, became a part of the WorldSkills UK initiative four years ago and has since been training and competing with his craft.

Trained and then employed at Staveley's Waters & Acland, the former Kendal resident was picked to be a part of Team UK after taking part in a series of qualifying rounds.

When it came to the WorldSkills Finals, he had just 22 hours over the course of four days to produce a cabinet.

"It was very stressful," Angus said. "I think it's probably the hardest thing I have ever done."

He said that he 'couldn't believe' that he had won and having had a few technical difficulties to to begin with he felt like he had 'pulled something out of the bag' to secure bronze.

"I've trained so hard, weekends, evenings the lot really it's really hard to put into words," he said. "It's been brilliant. So much work and it's finally paid off."

Team UK triumphed at the competition, picking up 20 medals, including one gold, three silver, three bronze and 13 medallions of excellence.

It finished 10th out of 77 in the medals table ahead and was the smallest team to make the global top 10.

Over the course of the four years with WorldSkills UK, Angus has had the opportunity to travel the globe and meet plenty of talented individuals.

"It's a long process," he said. "It's not just making a cabinet there's a lot of psychology that we did at Loughborough University. I gained a lot more confidence with it but it's the people I met and the different countries I have been to because of this process has just been amazing."

Angus chose woodwork as his career path as he had 'just loved it at school' and loved to make things.

He now lives in Chester and works for Silverlining, making bespoke furniture for superyachts, private residences and aircrafts.

He said that he would encourage anyone with a skill to get involved with WorldSkills UK.

"I would say absolutely go for it," he said. "You've got absolutely n nothing to lose."