Beauty queen Laura is Vegas-bound

Laura (28), from Laughton en le Morthern, took the Miss Diamond UK title in Weymouth and said it was a wonderful experience.

Part of her prize offers her the chance to travel to Vegas to participate in the prestigious Miss Regency International competition.

Laura beat other UK contestants to become Miss Diamond UK but says all the women taking part were friendly.

She told the Advertiser: “I got on really well with the young women taking part. Within minutes we were having a laugh, sharing stories about our previous pageant experiences and talking about our charity work in the lead up to the finals.

“Our first round was to discuss our chosen charity and introduce ourselves, then we catwalked in swimwear, fashion wear and evening gown before a break to hear who made the top five.

“I felt excited and nervous to be called for the top five as I knew I would be given an onstage question, but I just tried to relax and enjoy the moment.”

Laura took a number of special awards in the run-up to the final victory — Best in Beachwear, Best in Fashion, Miss Publicity and Miss Congeniality for which Laura was chosen by the other finalists.

Laura said that her family was over the moon when she took the overall Miss Diamond UK title.

She said: “My family was hysterical, cheering and taking pictures, calling more family and friends to give them the good news and every single one of the other contestants congratulated me.”

Laura said that she was offered a choice of prize for winning the competition.

She said: “Because this year there will be no Miss Diamond internationally, the director gave me the choice of either an all-inclusive holiday or a trip to Vegas to compete in Miss Regency International.

“After some thought I have decided to go to Vegas which I am ecstatic about as I have never been to Vegas and also because it is pretty close to LA so my room mate — Miss USA — from my previous pageant is going to come and support me.

“I fly out at the end of July along with the winner of the Teen category of the Miss Diamond competition. In Vegas I will be judged in a similar capacity to my previous pageants and in the mean time I will be available to make appearances in the community as Miss Diamond UK starting with the upcoming VIP launch party of my sponsors Nailz by Malez.”

Laura said that she also has plans for the longer term.

She said: “I have had some brilliant opportunities thanks to taking part in pageants so I am now considering becoming a director in the near future so I can give others great opportunities too.”