A painting and decorating student from Penzance has come second in the regional heat of a national painting competition.

Tom Nowells, a student at Penwith College, came in second place in the South West heat of the Johnstone’s Young Painter of the Year competition.

Held at Bournemouth and Poole College in Dorset, the competition saw 17 other students from colleges including Exeter, Plymouth, Bath, Poole and the Isle of Wight competing for the top slot.

Each competitor was given an entry pack with a set of instructions and drawings which they had to follow to transpose a design from the plan onto a wall.

This required the use of precise measurements and a compass to scale the design from the plan up to the size required for the wall art.

Once completed the design was delicately painted using brush skills, and competitors has just six hours to complete the task.

Andie Bishop, lecturer at Penwith College, said: “The standard of the work from all of the competitors was impressive.

“Tom was able to demonstrate the maths, painting skills and techniques he had acquired at the college to complete this task to the best of his ability which won him second prize.

“This was Penwith College’s first entry in the competition and a great result for Tom."

Tom won £30 and a bag of tools from Johnstone’s Paints for coming second in the competition.