Sixteen-year-old Alanta Shattock from Farnham has reached the final of the Miss England beauty pageant.

The former Weydon schoolgirl, who will go on to study for a BTEC in travel and tourism in September, will be one of the youngest-ever contestants to feature in the final when it takes place next month.

It comes after she received a wild-card in the Miss London contest, and went on to make the top 16 of 40 contestants in the Miss London semi-final.

Backed by reality TV star Joey Essex, she also came third in the charity round of the Miss London semi-final, having raised a significant amount of money for suicide awareness charity Papyrus with the help of regulars at The Hare and Hounds pub in Rowledge.

The pub’s landlord Adrian and landlady Anne Marie also plan to host a band night before the finals with Alanta to raise more money and awareness for Papyrus.

Alanta lives in Boundstone with mum Karon, 52, a sales merchandiser and herself a former beauty pageant contestant, and stepdad Paul, 56, who owns Concept Design Solutions Ltd in Bordon.

The teenager dreams of becoming a top model and air stewardess on Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, is a big Tottenham fan, and has a pony in Bentley.

The winner of the Miss England contest will go on to represent England in Miss World.