Veteran making robot sculptures up for award

A military veteran and his wife who turn scrap into sculptures of robots have been nominated for a business award.

Andrew Laverton, from Shrewsbury, a former technician on army helicopters, began using his aviation engineering skills in 2022 to make sculptures in his garage to help improve his mental health, describing it as "meditation for engineers".

A year later, he and wife Lorraine decided to sell his creations online.

They have been nominated for a Soldiering On award which recognise outstanding achievements in the armed forces community.

Mr Laverton, who spent almost three decades in the military, said he struggled after moving into a civilian aviation role.

"I was suffering from mental health...so I used to come into my garage after work, as I had a stressful job, and play with my power tools," he said.

"One day I put a couple of pieces together and thought 'oh, it looks like a robot' and it went from there."

All his creations are named after his wife Lorraine's great-grandfather Herbert who the couple said could never throw away anything he thought could be useful.

As part of the business, Mrs Laverton visits schools and children's groups to encourage interest in practical and scientific skills.

She has also written a children's book and the couple said they wanted to see their robot creations become a children's TV series to inspire a next generation of engineers.

They said just being nominated for a Soldiering On business start-up award meant they were winning.

"Being recognised for our achievements, for Andy overcoming adversity to make the Berts in the first place...nobody can believe how far we've come," said Mrs Laverton.

The Soldiering On Awards will be held in London on 16 October.

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.