A 21-year-old skateboarding champion and paralegal has reached the Miss England final.

Faye Cann who describes herself as “loving an adventure and living for surprising people" will be vying for the crown later this month.

Faye, who lives in Hove and went to Patcham High School followed by Bhasvic sixth form, said: “At 16, I was head girl of my school. At 18, I was the skateboarding champion of the South East of England.

"At 19, I took my first ever solo trip to Singapore. At 20 I solo travelled nine states on the east coast of America.

"Now, at 21, I am competing in Miss England, which I would say has been my wildest venture so far.”

She is an old hand at competitions as she began to take part in longboard freestyle skateboarding at the age of 17.

Faye performed in front of crowds of thousands on Brighton seafront and became the female South East longboard freestyle champion at 18.

At the age of 17 she lost her mother Shelley to ovarian cancer, which she said was a turning point and an inspiration to strive for more.

She said: “The thing my mum always enforced upon me was standing out from the crowd and to never be pressured into doing anything just because everyone else was.

"When she died, I decided that instead of crumbling into grief, I would take her zest for life and run with it, allowing it to live on through me.”

It also inspired her to carry out more charity work. She began volunteering in a Cancer Research charity shop at 14 and continues to do so today. 

Faye works for Dean Wilson Solicitors in Brighton. She started out as a receptionist at a different company and was quickly promoted to become a paralegal. She moved firms and is now working towards her professional qualification.

Faye will be competing against 40 other women in the Miss England national final to be held on May 16 and 17 at Grand Station Wolverhampton.