A young woman who was told that thatching is "man's work" is now one of the country's top apprentices.

Kirsty Bamber, 21, is out in all weathers practising the trade she thought might be "interesting" after a chat in a pub.

She has just finished a specialist NVQ course in the craft, where she came out with a 92 per cent pass - the highest ever awarded to a female student.

This week she is putting her learning into practice, rethatching a cottage in Long Crendon as an apprentice for County Thatchers at Long Hanborough.

"It's pretty miserable in this kind of weather, but I love it," said Ms Bamber, of Buckland Road, Bampton. "There's a lot to the craft and, after three years' apprenticeship, you're still learning a lot."

Mark Vickers, owner of County Thatchers, said: "It is a pretty male-dominated trade. I know of only six women who have come into it. She is very good."

Ms Bamber recently finished her course at Wellingborough, Northamptonshire - and her mother Liz, of Beam Paddock, Bampton, said she was "really proud" of what her daughter has achieved.

"When she told the Jobcentre she wanted to train as a thatcher, they told her not to be silly and to look for something else," said Mrs Bamber. "She's really stuck at it. I take my hat off to her."

Ms Bamber first became interested in the trade while talking to thatcher David Tomlins in a pub. And a new career wasn't the only thing she gained - Mr Tomlins is now her partner.