A short story penned by a New College student has been included in a book of travel writing printed by a national newspaper.

Smorgasbord, by 17-year-old Leigh Debbage is the tale of a pizza delivery boy sent to deliver his favourite pepperoni feast to an address on the wrong side of town.

It is one of ten winning stories from the Guardian/Picadilly teenage writing competition to feature in the book called The Perfect Journey. The competition attracted more than 1,000 entries from across the country.

Leigh, who is currently studying English, history and film, was presented with a copy of the book by television presenter Michael Palin at the London launch earlier this month.

Mr Palin had sat on the competitions judging panel with writer Rosie Rushton and Guardian reviewer Joanna Carey.

"It was highly encouraging to see so much teenage talent," said Mr Palin. "Having your story published at such a young age is a wonderful achievement."

Now Leigh, of West Swindon, plans to draw on knowledge from his A level film course to turn Smorgasbord into a screenplay. He describes his style as dark and funny and says he would love to become a professional writer.

"Teenagers over react to everything and I wanted to show that by getting inside his head," he said. "It is more about a mental journey than the obvious physical journey."

The Perfect Journey is scheduled to be published on Thursday, October 26 and features an introduction by Michael Palin. The paperback is priced £5.99, the hardback £9.99.