A sports student in Dudley who uses his footballing skills to help others is celebrating after he was picked to be an Olympic torch bearer.

Ross Ensor, who studies Sport Performance and Excellence at Dudley College, has been named as one of the 8,000 inspirational people who will carry the Olympic flame during its 70- day journey around the UK.

The teenager, from Wall Heath, has been allocated a torch relay slot between Derby and Birmingham on June 30 after being nominated for a position through an appeal launched by Lloyds TSB to find someone who has made a difference in their local community.

The 17-year-old was nominated by his college tutor, Rob Elkin, who says he thought that Ross’s achievements and national recognition for his volunteering, contribution to sport and work in the community with schools and football teams, would make him an ideal candidate.

He has amassed more than 200 hours volunteering at cross college and local schools events, and was recognised in June 2011 by the British Colleges of Sport for his commitment when he won male volunteer of the year.

Ross also coaches and manages a junior football team and is busy as a qualified football referee every weekend.

He said: “When I opened the email from the London 2012 Olympic organisers I nearly fell off my chair. I’m  over the moon to be selected, it’s a real honour and it will definitely be a once in a lifetime experience.”
He added: “I’m very excited and looking forward to the special day”.

Mr Elkin, who is 2012 community sports co-ordinator at the college added: “Ross is a credit to the sports department and Dudley College. Being selected as an Olympic torchbearer is a huge achievement, and just reward for all his hard work at college and  the volunteering he does in his own time. He’s a great lad and I’m confident he will have a great future as a  football coach when he finishes his course”.

The torch, which is lit in Greece, will arrive in the UK on May 18. It will start its journey from Land’s End, travelling 8,000 miles before arriving at the Olympic Stadium on July 27 for the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony. The route will take in 20 areas of the Black Country and Staffordshire.

Follow in famous footsteps: Sir Steve Redgrave

 Follow the Flame around the UK all the way to the London Games

The Olympic Games are heading for London in just under eight months’ time and Lloyds TSB is backing the great occasion every step of the way.
As the National Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB is making sure as many people as possible in the UK see the Olympic Flame.
The London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will be a 70-day celebration that will see the Olympic Flame carried across the length and breadth of the UK all the way to the opening ceremony of the London 2012   Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, before arriving in the UK on May 18, 2012. It will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers on a relay through towns and cities coming within a one-hour journey for 95 per cent of the population, past famous sights and landmarks, before arriving at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games on July 27 2012.
The street-level route will be revealed a few weeks before the relay passes through each community.

Special sponsored feature brought to you by Lloyds TSB and the Express & Star