A WOMAN who grew up in Cross Roads and was educated locally has won a top European award.

Kate Lunt, nee Gower, has scooped the Rail Engineer accolade in the European Women In Construction & Engineering Awards.

And she hopes her success may encourage more young people to study STEM subjects at school and take up engineering careers.

Kate was put forward for the award by colleagues at civil engineering consultancy Arcadis, where she is a rail technical director and team leader.

"The experience of being nominated by my team was amazing," she says.

"And seeing the nomination words written down, as well as the endorsements of my company Arcadis, has been truly humbling.

"In my role I pull together a diverse team of various nationalities and lead by example to design complex infrastructure projects, including HS2.

"On the day of the awards judging, I felt privileged to meet many brilliant and talented people, the best in our industry.

"What struck me was the diversity of background and experience of all the finalists I was lucky enough to speak to. All were utterly inspiring, but had hugely different stories and experiences. As finalists, we were united in pride at being there."

The awards ceremony was held at the Park Plaza, at Westminster Bridge in London.

Kate, 40, adds: "My focus has always been on the wellbeing of my team, and winning this award will help me as I try to be the best role model I can be.

"Going forward I hope it will give my voice added weight in my work to promote civil engineering as a career, particularly in railways. I would like to use the award to encourage young people to do STEM subjects at school and take up careers in engineering.

"I love my job, which gives me the opportunity to carry out exciting design work, with calculations and drawings as well as coding and modelling, and I get to see those designs – which will last the ages – built! It has also connected me to amazing people across the construction and engineering industries.

"I'll continue to be an enthusiastic promoter of civil engineering."

Kate attended Lees School, Hartington Middle and Oakbank.

She then studied at Durham University, graduating with a first in civil engineering.

One of the earlier projects in her career was the replacement of a bridge over the River Worth in Keighley.