Beauty queen Laura returns after swimmingly good trip

Laura (27), from Laughton en le Morthern, who teaches dance at Wickersley School, was selected as one of the five winners of Miss Scuba UK and travelled to Paphos in Cyprus and more recently Egypt to learn vital diving skills as part of the win.

Now she is back from Egypt and awaiting her final scores.

She said: “I got back from Egypt last Wednesday and although I came home without a crown I don’t come home empty-handed.

“We all have come home with our advanced open water certification and some dive clothing and equipment from our sponsors including a wet suit, masks and fins, swimwear and T-shirts. 

“We didn’t find out on the night where we all placed out of the top five and I’m waiting for the directors to come back to me with a breakdown of my scores and where I placed so I can see where I lost and gained points.

“I did get a medal for Best on Stage at stage one of the competition and a certificate to say I was the overall winner of stage one so I must have placed pretty high in interview too.

“It’s bittersweet to know I was in the lead and did really well in the UK then have been overtaken at some point by one of the other competitors. I take comfort in the fact I kept my integrity and throughout the competition continued to build on some existing friendships and build new ones. After all, once the crown has been handed over, all you are left with are your friendships.”

Laura, a former Miss Intercontinental England, spent her time in Egypt having photo shoots, some underwater, as well as a beach clean-up with a local kindergarten.

The five finalists also learnt about marine biology, marine conservation and diving skills.

One will be chosen from the five competition winners to represent the UK at the international level of Miss Scuba.

Laura was one of 40 women who battled for the Miss Scuba UK title at Cutlers Hall in Sheffield in August.