Award made from blast victim fund

Helen Jones was fatally injured in the attacks on 7 July

The first award has been made from a fund in memory of a Scottish accountant killed in the London bombings.

Lockerbie Academy pupil Emma McDowall, 17, is the first recipient of the Helen Jones Scholarship.

A former pupil of the school, Helen Jones, 28, died in the Piccadilly Line tube blast on 7 July during attacks on the city's transport network.

The scholarship was set up for students of accountancy and is worth £1,000 a year to its first recipient.

'Popular and talented'

Emma will use the money from the fund established by the Scottish Accountancy Trust for Education and Research (SATER) to study accountancy at Heriot Watt University.

Miss Jones, a chartered accountant, was working for Phoenix Equity Partners in London when she was killed.

The fund was set up in accordance with the wishes of her mother Liz Staffell.

The scholarship has been assisted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, two of Miss Jones' former employers.

Emma McDowall will use the money to study accountancy

"From what I have heard about Helen, she was a lovely person who worked hard and achieved a lot," said Emma.

"I want to pursue a career in chartered accountancy or stock broking and Helen's achievements, together with the scholarship, will motivate me towards achieving that."

Helen's mother, Liz Staffell, explained why Emma was being chosen as the first recipient of the scholarship.

"I wanted somebody whose attitude to life and study would have been approved of by Helen," she said.

"I think Emma stood out as somebody who has these qualities.

"She would be very pleased with Emma as the first winner of her scholarship. "

The chairman of SATER, Professor Ian Percy, said: "Helen was a popular and talented chartered accountant.

"SATER is delighted to be helping to keep her memory alive in a way which can support talented students from the area where she grew up."