A Bowland Bridge boy has reached the final of the prestigious BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition.

Benjamin French's story is called 'Clot and the Anti-Body Army' and was inspired by a bad cold he suffered.

“It all started with an early night and a good dose of medicine," said Benjamin, who is ten years old.

"I asked my mum how my body works and how it fights off the bugs and she explained about the eternal battle of immune system versus infection and how night time is when my body recovers and when the dreaded bug is defeated.

"The next morning my mum said I should think about entering the 500 Words competition, and then it came to me, it was perfect, a battle in my body would be a great plot for a story.

Once I’d got my inspiration, it only took about two days to write and since I had the plot so quickly it was surprisingly easy to complete. It was much harder to cut down to 500 words because I got carried away and ended up with 850 – it took a whole day to cut down!"

Benjamin, who is head boy at the independent Barnard Castle Preparatory School, explained he loved writing "because I’m transported to another world where, in my imagination, anything can happen."

And he added: "If I was lucky enough to win, it would be great timing as I would get 500 books for the school library, which is being refurbished."

Benjamin is a finalist in the 10-13 age group and will travel to the ceremony at Windsor Castle on June 14, which is streamed live by Radio 2.

Headmistress of Barnard Castle Preparatory School Laura Turner said: "We always encourage pupils to enter the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition and around 30 did this year.

"Benjamin’s success is an amazing achievement as one of the few entries from the north of England ever to reach the final. There has been such a buzz around school since we heard that one of our school family is off to Windsor Castle for the final on June 14 and his achievement truly has inspired our pupils for the future.”