A unique career guidance event is being held in memory of an 11-year-old tragically killed in a car accident.

Ethan Linwood, who had lived in Finchingfield, was killed three years ago when the car he was in struck a tree on the B1051, near Thaxted.

In his memory his family set up the Ethan Rees Linwood Memorial Fund, a charity which helps young people in the area with their career options.

Their latest event is aiming to attract 14 to 16-year-olds to the vehicle repair industry.

Bob Linwood, Ethan’s dad, said: “It is the first time we have ever done something like this and it’s very exciting on a number of levels.

“Young people aren’t necessarily exposed to career guidance opportunities, especially in this industry, so it’s a great opportunity.

“It’s important for us as we wanted to give something back to the industry that offered us support.

“We are building a very strong legacy for Ethan.”

The event will be run with the help of REAL and AutoRaise, the only government recognised apprenticeship standard in the industry, and will be hosted by the Rye Street Group.

Bill Duffy, Rye Street Group Managing Director, said: “We are extremely proud to be hosting this event and as well as hopefully capturing some young talent for the future.

“We are going to be inviting our business partners, various industry stakeholders and other repairers to join us at the event and hopefully stimulate some interest for their own organisations to support AutoRaise and REAL in this exciting initiative”.

The event will be held at the Rye Street Group Bishops Stortford Accident Repair Centre on Wednesday, February 24.

More information can be found by visiting the AutoRaise website at www.autoraise.org/events Students are required to pre-register on the website.

The evening will be held between 5pm and 8pm, and will include live demonstrations of vehicles being repaired.