PENARTH'S Big Issue seller, who has embarked on a new career as a plumber, has been named as student of the year on her course at Barry College!

Familiar face Lee James, 27, who was left homeless after the death of her mother six years ago, started her course at Barry College last September.

Lee, who sells the Big Issue on Windsor Road in Penarth town centre, said: "I passed my first-year exams and will now start my City & Guilds qualifications next year.

"It was something I wanted to do - but people who buy the Big Issue from me gave me that little push to get me going.

"It has given me a great sense of satisfaction. I wanted to show people what I could do," she added.

"I think a lot of people think Big Issue sellers are bums, drunks and drug-users.

"Well, I'm not like that at all."

Lee, who currently lives in a homeless hostel on Newport Road in Cardiff, said she now feels she can get her life back on track.

She said: "I am so grateful for all the support and encouragement people in Penarth have given me.

"People here have been great to me."

Olga Jones, of Sully, who buys the Big Issue from Lee, said: "I am so pleased for Lee. She's a lovely girl and lots of people in Penarth think the world of her.

"She deserves this chance and I am sure she will make the most of it.

"She must have a chat with 60 or 70 people a day."

Lee says she will begin looking for an apprenticeship when she completes her qualifications.

She will continue to sell the Big Issue in Penarth until then, as she attends her course part-time.