A SOUTHAMPTON student has scooped a national award based on her own research voyage whilst based at the National Oceanography Centre.

Laura Hepburn, 27, from Chandler’s Ford, won £500 for the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) inaugural short article and photography competition.

Her winning essay details the child-like excitement she felt during a recent research voyage when she first saw underwater hydrothermal vents blowing their signature black smoke across her monitoring screens.

Laura, who is based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, says: “The article competition was the perfect opportunity to convey my childhood passion for underwater exploration and hopefully inspire scientific interest in kids and “big kids” alike.”