A Stevenage graduate has won first place in a prestigious engineering competition with his radical design for a dance studio floor.

Oliver Neve, 26, who was educated at Collenswood School in the town, took first prize in the Institution of Civil Engineers East of England Graduate and Student Papers Competition on Tuesday night. Judges at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge were wowed by his design for two state-of-the-art dance studios at a Norfolk school using a timber and concrete mix he calls Timcrete.

Oliver, who works for civil engineering firm Ramboll in Cambridge, will now represent the region in the South of England semi-final aiming for a place in the International Papers Competition held in London in June.