A HEXHAM student is celebrating after making the finals of Miss England.

Twenty-one-year-old Corel-Jo Antwhistle is the only North-East representative left in the prestigious competition.

The Northumbria University Fine Art student, who grew up in Venezuela, qualified for the Miss England semi-final in London back in August after being brought in as a wild card.

"I’ve got a lot to show at finals and hopefully, I can become the next Miss England and represent England at Miss World", she said.

"I was so shocked when they called my name out at the semi-finals; I was about 11th to be called out and I didn't think I'd got through. I was so overwhelmed and so happy."

Corel-Jo was one of just 16 other girls - out of a possible 40 - to be selected to progress.

She explained: "It was really hard when some of the girls didn’t get through at semi-finals because we all equally wanted to do our best.

"I thought it would be really hostile between the girls; this is my first pageant and I've never met anyone who's been involved this far in one before either.

"It's been really brilliant to see how kind and welcoming everyone is to each other. I made actual friends on the semi-finals day.

"It was also super interesting hearing all the girls' stories and what had inspired them to even get that far.

"It’s been absolute chaos for me but it’s amazing and I’ve loved all of it."

Corel-Jo is currently working full-time as a deputy general manager while pursuing her dream. She has been sponsored by Jesmond-based Lowes Financial Management.

As part of her bid to become Miss England, Corel-Jo, who plans to join the Met Police, has also raised money for charity Beauty with a Purpose. She has, so far, raised £1,000 of her £10,000 goal and has organised a 11.5-mile walk around an RAF crash site to boost funds.

The semi-final was hosted by former Mr England winner Jordan Williams, who recently appeared on ITVs Starstruck as a Michael Bublè tribute act.