A BUDDING truck driver from Crewkerne has flown to the USA to pursue his dream.

Francis Bradfield, 21, studied motorsport before taking on the two-year Business Skills Development Exchange Programme at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

After interviews, medicals and physical assessments, including screening for drug and alcohol use, Francis was one of seven students accepted on the course.

He said: “I’m interested in anything automotive – I did a Foundation Degree in Motorsport, I work at a go-karting course and now I have a job driving lorries.

“I want to go into engineering and top up my foundation degree to a full BSc Honours, and hopefully this will give me a new perspective on the industry.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.”

Francis will now spend five weeks studying for his commercial driver’s licence at Indian Hills, followed by two weeks training in Indianapolis alongside an experienced mentor.

For the remainder of the two-year programme he will be experiencing life on the road on an internship with one of the USA’s largest trucking carriers while completing online classes.

Marlene Sprouse, president at Indian Hills, said: “The students are applying themselves to the learning tasks and becoming well acquainted with truck driving over here.

“The training programme is helping students build important workforce skills and the support they get from the trucking company is top notch.”