Anglia Ruskin University midwifery student Carl Allen is celebrating after winning the runner-up prize in a prestigious national nursing scholarship award offered by the UK's leading charity for nurses.

Carl, 27, was selected from hundreds of hopefuls from around the UK who applied for the recently-launched Cavell Nurses' Trust Scholarship Awards. He was awarded the runner-up prize in the Outstanding Student Midwife Award category and received a Sony Vaio laptop computer.

The awards were attended by leaders from the world of nursing: Dame Christine Beasley, DBE, Chief Nursing Officer; Jane Cummings, Chief Nurse for NHS North of England, who takes over as Chief Nursing Officer later this year; Professor Dame Elizabeth Fradd DBE, a leading independent health service adviser; and Professor Lesley Page, President and board member of the Royal College of Midwives.

Also present were members of Edith Cavell's family and Diana Souhami, the author of a new Edith Cavell biography. The event, held at the Fishmongers' Hall in London, included a presentation about the work of Cavell Nurses' Trust plus first hand accounts from two nurses supported by the Trust last year.

Guests to the event were welcomed by Simon Knighton, the new Chairman of Cavell Nurses' Trust and Kate Tompkins, Acting Chief Executive.