A 21-year-old property entrepreneur from Gornal has been hand-picked to battle it out in an Apprentice-style competition in a historic castle.

James Armstrong will put his skills to the test against 12 other budding property investors from all over the country in ‘The Eviction’, based on the hit BBC1 competition.

James is the youngest person taking part in the competition and quit his job as electrician to embark on a career as a property entrepreneur.

‘The Eviction’ is being held throughout April and will see contestants live in Caverswall Castle in the Staffordshire Moorlands, which is one of the last remaining moated castles in the UK and dates back to the 13th century.

There, they will take on a series of challenges and will each be eliminated until one person is left standing to win £20,000 to invest in property.

James, a former pupil at Old Swinford Hospital in Stourbridge, is already earning around £4,000 a month from selling property deals to investors.

Explaining how his life has changed along with his career, James said: “I live a different life now to when I was working as a sparkie and working upwards of 60 hours a week. Now I work in two to three hour stints every day and can take longer lunch breaks. I also earn far more money.

“I’m really excited about the challenge. Winning the £20,000 would be amazing as it would help me in my goal of investing in my own property, rather than having to sell all the deals I find.”

James’ journey in the competition will be charted in a documentary which will be broadcast on Youtube.

The Lord Sugar of the competition is 27-year-old Samuel Leeds, chairman of Property Investors, based at Hilton Hall, near Wolverhampton.

He said: “Like me, none of them were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. We train thousands of people each year and these individuals stood out.

“They are enjoying the facilities of the castle and our hospitality, but I’ll be evicting 12 people along the way. The last person standing will be handed £20,000 to invest in property.”

Samuel left school at the age of 16 and by the time he was 21 had accrued enough income to retire.

During the last 12 months, he has added around 40 properties to his portfolio, including historic Ribbesford House in Bewdley.