A teenager is to represent her county in a nationwide beauty pageant.

Chloe Ellman-Baker, 18, from Shoreham, is competing in the teen category of Miss Diamond UK 2018.

She will be representing Sussex – and raising money for Julia’s House Children’s Hospices, which are based in Wiltshire and Dorset.

The charity helps families who have children with life-limiting illnesses.

Chloe said: “One of my aims in entering the contest is to help people understand what pageantry is about.

“Many people have a distorted and preconceived idea of what goes on. There are three main stages to a pageant – which are charity, appearances and then the final rounds on stage.

“Miss Diamond UK is all about diversity and the beauty of every woman.

“I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps, as she used to compete in beauty competitions and she won 13 titles including Miss Brighton, Miss Eastbourne and Miss Worthing.

“The title of Miss Diamond UK would mean the world to me, as I would be able to use my title to help communities and give charities a voice and a helping hand.”

Chloe runs a YouTube channel called C.StarzTV with her friend and co-host, Anastasia Harker and director Adam Scott.

They share videos of social experiments involving people in their community. Sound House Studios in Worthing is sponsoring Chloe.

She films videos for her YouTube channel there weekly and helps out with their events.

She said: “I’ve been attending many local events and getting involved within my community.

“It’s so lovely to see everyone coming together for good causes,” she said.

Chloe has so far attended Shoreham Community Centre Easter market, Shoreham Fort’s “find out more” day and Brighton’s Green Door Store.

She also helped plan a live concert in Shoreham showcasing four upcoming bands from Sussex.

Chloe said: “The event brought around 300 people together for a great community evening.”

The Miss Diamond UK finals will be held on May 5 at The Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth.

The winner of the pageant, now in its third year, gets the chance to represent the UK at the Regency International pageant in Las Vegas.