From living on the streets to being highly commended for his work at St Albans City Station, life is getting better and better for Mike Tyler.

For Mike, who checks tickets and helps at the gateline at the station, has received the accolade in the Frontline Employee of the Year category of the National Transport Awards,

But life was not always so good for Mike who was living on the streets before completing a Get into Railway programme run jointly by Thameslink and the Prince’s Trust, The Get Into Railway programme target young people, between the age of 18 and 25, including people who were homeless, care leavers, ex-offenders, single parents, refugees/asylum seekers, and those with disabilities.

Now an established member of the Thameslink team, Mike was named the Flying Start Award winner at the Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success Awards in 2015.

He said at the time: “Before I was living on the streets and not doing anything with my life. The Prince’s Trust changed all that and now I’m in a job I love and couldn’t be happier. The support I received from the staff there and from Thameslink made all the difference and I’ll always be grateful to them for what they did for me.”

Mike is now an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and has been trained, with other members of Thameslink staff, to become a mentor to young people now completing other programmes.

Stuart Cheshire, passenger services director for Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “We are really pleased that all of Mike’s efforts have been recognised. Our work with the Prince’s Trust continues to go from strength to strength with almost 70 members of staff having joined us thanks to the hard work of teams across the network on these programmes. It is wonderful to see this group doing well and Mike is an excellent example of this.”