ROBOT wars proved easy for a group of Warrington Collegiate Institute students who scooped top prize in a national competition.

Engineering experts Sharleen Jackson and Dave Rowe, who are second year HND students, fought hard to beat the best industrial apprentices in the country in the Mechatronics UK National Final Competition.

The duo worked on seven tasks, from programming mechanised robots to building an industrial workstation. Out of a maximum of 740 points, they scored a staggering 694 23 and a half points ahead of Federal Mogul, their nearest rivals.

Mechatronics lecturer Hubert Ward said: "It is the third time that the Collegiate has won this prestigious event out of five times entered.

"Our students should feel very proud of themselves. Sharleen has clearly shown that women can stand their ground against the best in engineering and beat them.

"We are consistently producing the best engineers in the UK a superb stamp of achievement for us all here at the Collegiate."