AN engineer from Widnes has given a new meaning to 'man with a van' having been chosen to star on a company's vehicle livery.

Marcus Howarth, 20, who is a third year apprentice specialising in bioresources at the company’s Mersey Valley Processing Centre at Shell Green, near Widnes is among a handful of United Utilities staff chosen to star on an £11 million makeover of the company fleet.

Speaking of his newfound fame, the Merseyside engineer said: "It was a bit of an honour that they chose to use my photo on the vans. I’m pretty positive about it.

"I love working for United Utilities and the apprenticeship has gone really well. I’d recommend it to anyone. I thought I had had enough of the classroom but now I am pushing to be able to do an HNC.”

The first 264 vans will take to the roads in the next few weeks, and will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people every week.

Lou Beardmore, the water company’s customer services director said company vans were a great way to communicate with customers about things they found important, like local job opportunities and innovation.

"We reckon that one of our vans is spotted by nearly two thirds of people in the North West every day. So, by the time our entire fleet is replaced, people like Marcus will be quite a familiar sight.

“We’re so grateful to him for letting us use his image. He’s a great ambassador for our apprenticeship programme. Investing in future skills to keep the North West flowing is hugely important for us so the more people who know about the opportunities we offer, the better.”

The first 264 vans will take to the roads in the next few weeks, and will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people every week.

For more information about working for United Utilities, including apprenticeships, visit https://www.unitedutilities.com/corporate/careers/.