'I designed a medal for Black Sabbath and they said it was f*****g brilliant' - Shropshire student wows famous band

He won a competition put on by his university, Birmingham City University (BCU), where he is studying for a Higher National Diploma in Jewellery and Silversmithing.

All four members of the band - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Terence 'Geezer' Butler - received the Freedom of the City award at the Council House in Victoria Square.

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And after being invited onto stage for a picture with the medal he designed, Toby had the pleasure of meeting the stars for an encounter he will never forget.

He said: "I tried to leave the stage after the pictures and they said 'no, go and meet the band'. I did and went and said hello to Ozzy and asked if he liked the medal, and said that it was such an honour to be able to do it and I was a big fan. He said it was really good and said 'thanks'.

"I then went across to Geezer and Tony and they said the same things and shook my hand.

"But then when I went to Bill Ward, who was very softly-spoken, really humble and nice, I said 'is the medal alright?' He replied 'oh yes, it's f*****g brilliant!'

"That was enough for me at that point, I was very happy."

The news that his design had won the competition also came as a welcome early-morning surprise.

"I think I was woken up by the email," Toby laughed. "It was a good start to the day though, a good start to the year as well.

"I thought it would get picked and that would be it, but it hasn't ended since. It's been non-stop."

Toby wanted his medal to represent the people of Birmingham, it having been presented to Black Sabbath "on their behalf", he added.

His main goal was to capture different elements of the city, and so his design included symbols and references to great achievements such as the first open-heart surgery that was performed at Birmingham Children's Hospital, Cadbury chocolate, a Balti pie, and references to other famous musicians and bands from the region such as UB40 and Duran Duran.

Seeing members of the famous band with the medal that he designed was a proud moment for the student.

"It was surreal seeing them holding my medal," the 20-year-old continued. "It was quite a personal process, you have your own certain style to your work and ideas.

"For people to take your design and recognise what you have put into it and having the opportunity to honour these legends of music is amazing."

Toby met each member of the band and also took an album with him which he managed to get signed.

But, as if his night wasn't good enough already, Toby had an incredible chat with Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon before she got him tickets not only to the band's 'Back To The Beginning' gig at Villa Park this weekend, but also to Ozzy's afterparty.

Toby added: "It was all starting to end, people were leaving. I thought that I would go and introduce myself to Sharon Osbourne.

"I said hello and we were sat on the edge of the stage together chatting. She saw I had the album and asked if I was going to their gig on Saturday. I told her that I didn't have a ticket.

"But she said 'why the hell not' and said 'we can sort that out'. Then she called her security guard and said she wanted them to sort me some tickets and an invite to Ozzy's afterparty.

"It's going to be really cool, the fact she invited me is cool enough. I was on cloud nine. But then as Sharon was leaving she threw me a peace sign and smile and said 'see you on Saturday', and that was the cherry on the top where I thought 'I don't even know what is going on anymore'."

The 20-year-old said it is "bit funny" that he has ended up doing what he has, having studied maths business, physics and finance at college.

But after doing a foundation year at university where he tried his hand at jewellery making, he said he "fell into it" and never looked back - changing his plan of studying Gemmology to Jewellery and Silversmithing.

With this under his belt, the future looks bright for Toby.

"I changed my course and obviously haven't regretted it," he said.

"This is a pretty good foundation to build on. I want to go into fine jewellery and design.

"When I was writing my biography for the medal presentation box, I didn't have anything to write about because I haven't done anything prior to this. This is my first real project really. So it is a bit surreal in that sense.

"It is a really unique first step into the industry and I am hoping that this is a good thing to build on. I am not stopping now, no way."