A nursery practitioner who turned her hand to cakes as a hobby has won gold at an international competition.

Beata Khoo, from Saltdean, was a Gold Award winner and overall third place in the Decorative Exhibit class at the Birmingham show on Sunday.

Mrs Khoo beat 27 other Gold Award winners from a total of 79 entries with her Finding Nemo-themed cake at Cake International: The Sugarcraft, Cake Decorating And Baking Show.

She said: “I am absolutely over the moon. The class I competed in gave competitors the freedom to push their imaginary boundaries and all the entries were of top quality.

“I am very proud of my achievement.

“I dedicate this award to my family and friends who had always supported and believed in me.”

Mrs Khoo only started designing cakes as a hobby about two years ago but has baked most of her life.

She also has a part-time business called My Sweet Passion Cakes and plans to spend more time improving her designs.

She added: “I just want to make people happy with my cakes.”