AN academic from Burton-in-Lonsdale who has founded a global writing community has been honoured for his work.

Lancaster University professor Graham Mort has been given a National Teaching Fellowship award 'for excellence in higher education and support for learning'.

Prof Mort is an 'eLearning' expert and has pioneered postgraduate programmes using this method at MA and PhD level. This has led to the development of an international community of students at Lancaster.

He has worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa for the British Council, designing and directing mentoring projects in creative writing for print media and radio broadcast.

He said: "I had a huge amount of support in achieving this award. That came from colleagues across the university and from the fantastic students I’ve been privileged to teach over the years –in the UK, Africa and beyond.

"I’m from a working class background and I know the transformative power of education from first-hand."