A budding film director has wowed judges with his video on remembering the 9/11 attacks on New York meaning he has won a trip to the US.

Owen Loughnane, 14, who is in Year 9 at Trinity Catholic High School, Mornington Road, Woodford Green will be visiting New York for the 12th anniversary of the attack.

He is one of eight students nationwide who won the competition organised by charity 9/11 London Project.

He made a two-minute video on why and how he would keep the memory of 9/11 alive in the UK.

Owen said: “I was in shock when I found out, I could not believe it. I got a call from the head of the judging panel congratulating me. My parents can’t believe it either – they want to come with me.”

The competition is aimed at students aged between 14 and 16 who could decide whether they wrote an essay or made a video.

For inspiring others, Owen is now in the running for the Recorder/Redbridge Rotary Club Young Citizen Award sponsored by the Exchange Ilford shopping centre.

He said: “I decided to make a video as I can’t really get my point across in writing. It’s easier with visual aids to tell people. I spent about a week working on it for about three hours a day.”

His idea of how the UK should remember 9/11 is to replicate the two lights stationed on Ground Zero on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square.

Owen said that remembering what happened on 9/11 is important as it was such an unexpected event.

“It’s such a big country and no one expected an attack, lots of people died,” he added.

He said that his trip to New York will include meeting former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani and a visit to the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero.

Own said that he would like to make films when he finishes school, particularly ones based on comic book characters as he likes special effects.