A Whitehaven woman has been honoured at a national event celebrating women in the nuclear sector.

Olivia Thompson, business manager at the National Nuclear Laboratory, was recognised for her work in the industry at the Women in Nuclear UK event.

She was handed the Mission Possible Award for her dedication in raising the profile of the sector and the careers available to young people.

Ms Thompson picked up her award alongside Baroness Verma, formerly under-secretary of state for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, who was given the Champion of the Year title in recognition of the support she gave to the group when it set up in 2014.

Ms Thompson picked up the top gong at the Women in Nuclear conference last week. The inaugural awards recognise people from across the sector who have supported WiN UK and helped it reach its aims.

The group is led by women and men from across the nuclear sector with the aim of increasing the number of of girls studying STEM subjects and attracting them towards a career in the nuclear sector, while supporting retention and progression of women already working in the sector.

The winners were chosen by the organisation’s executive board, which unanimously decided on Ms Thompson to pick up the two prizes.

Ms Thompson said: “This was a complete surprise to me. I’m both delighted and honoured to have received the award but more importantly, I’m glad that the contribution I and many others have been able to make in supporting Women in Nuclear UK has started to make a difference to the gender balance in the nuclear industry.

“There’s still more to do and I have no doubt that WiN UK will lead the way in the years to come.”

She was a founding member of WiN UK and was chairman of the attraction committee until 2016.