A MERSEYSIDE Army officer is celebrating after being named Young Woman Engineer of the Year, for her work keeping British helicopters in the sky over Afghanistan and Libya.

Aircraft engineering officer Captain Charlotte Joyce, of 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, was given the award by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

The 29-year-old, who grew up in Formby, manages the maintenance of Apache helicopters, the Army’s first choice chopper for swift strikes on ground targets from the air at close range.

Capt Joyce’s work took her to serve onboard HMS Ocean, as part of Nato's Operation Unified Protector to protect civilians in Libya.

It was the first time Apaches have flown strike missions from Royal Navy ships and presented unique maintenance challenges.

And, in 2010, the former pupil of Range High School, Formby, put her skills to the test maintaining helicopters in the arid conditions of Afghanistan.

Speaking of the variety in her job, she said: “Afghanistan is very hot and sandy, whereas, on HMS Ocean, we had to deal with damp, cold and salty conditions and the confined spaces of a ship.