He is among 25 talented young journalists from all over the country to be nominated for the first award, which is sponsored by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Jonathan is the only reporter from South Yorkshire on the trainee shortlist and is one of only two journalists to be selected in the sports reporter category.

Judges described the overall quality of the entries as "extremely high" and noted that the sports reporting category was "fiercely competitive" and particularly impressive.

The winners of the various categories will be announced at the Society of Editors conference in Bristol next month.

Jonathan, 24, joined the paper two years ago after studying print journalism at Leeds Trinity and All Saints College.

Despite his relative inexperience he has also been nominated as Sports Writer of the Year in the Yorkshire Press Awards to be announced on November 13.

He is the only weekly newspaper journalist to be nominated in this category and faces tough competition from reporters working for the Yorkshire Evening Post, Yorkshire Post and Hull Daily Mail.

Jonathan comes from Scawsby and is a former pupil of Ridgewood School and Hall Cross.