REEL success is on the cards for movie fan Vikash Patel.

For he is about to be taught the art of film editing by Hollywood star director Martin Scorcese.

Vikash is one of the youngest students to be accepted into the Hollywood-based American Film Institute -- which boasts Scorcese among its lecturers.

And with director David Lynch also casting an eye over pupils' work and Steven Spielberg one of the Institute's trustees, Vikash, a form er pupil at Bolton's Deane School, believes he will have gathered enough expertise and contacts to cut his first feature film in just three years time.

He said: "I'm going to be taught by the best moviemakers in the world and because I'm one of just 14 people from across the world to get a place on the course, I feel I'm really lucky.

"I just hope that with a lot of hard work, it will help turn me into a success."

Already Vikash's work has been attracting industry accolades.

Nathan, a documentary about his seven-year-old cousin which he filmed while at Northumbria University, was highly commended in the factual section of the Royal Television Society awards for raising awareness of Hinduism.

The eventual winner of the category was Back Home, a film which Vikash edited.

He said: "I love editing so I couldn't believe it when the people at the Institute said they had hand-picked me to go on the course. There's no better place to learn. David Lynch was a graduate of the Institute and he's one of the directors who has inspired me."

He is currently employed as a freelance editor for Newcastle-based production company Imagine which worked on current cinema hit Dog Soldiers.

Vikash, aged 23, who also attended Bolton Sixth Form College, said he enjoyed a wide variety of films from Mullholland Drive and Amelie to Panic Room starring Jodie Foster.

He has edited a pop music video for Irish band Basic and a documentary on Hadrian's Wall for the BBC.

But he needs £70,000 to pay for the two-year course and so far has taken a loan for £15,000.

"I'm trying to get sponsorship from film companies at the moment," he said. He needs to raise £35,000 before the end of July.

His former tutor at Northumbria University, Brian Hoey, said: "He was a wonderful student and we wish him all the very best."