Tuesday, June 29, 2010
'Too Old' Beauty Queen Stripped Of Her Title
A beauty queen has been stripped of her title - because she lied about her age and where she lived.
Teacher Laura Anness took the Miss Cornwall crown in front of hundreds of people in Newquay.
She was set to represent the county in the Miss England final in Birmingham at the end of August.
But organisers of the pageant discovered she had deceived them.
Her entry forms for 2010 said she was 22. So, too, did her entry forms for the competition in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Laura is, in fact, 27. Entrants have to be aged between 17 and 24.
To make matters worse, the new Miss Cornwall actually lived in Plymouth - in Devon.
She was found out when Miss Cornwall organiser Becky Chapman spotted the age inconsistencies on the entry forms and then went to visit her Devon home.
Laura apologised and handed back her sash, crown, her 12-month modelling contract and £2,000 worth of prizes.
The Miss Cornwall pageant announced on their website: "The recently-crowned Miss Cornwall 2010, Laura Anness, has been stripped of her title.
"Laura clearly stated on entry to the contest that she was 22. Subsequent checking has revealed her to be 27.
"Therefore, the title and place in the Miss England final goes to Samantha Jane Orpe who was the first runner up in Miss Cornwall 2010."
Ms Orpe is 21, and from Truro - in Cornwall.
Source: Sky News