The winner of Miss Kingston Upon-Thames has said that she “wants to use the competition to promote a town that she is really proud of.”

Grace Smithen, 25, won the title for 2017, and has now made the final of the Miss Surrey competition.

As well as progressing in that competition, she has also reached the semi-finals of Miss England, which will be held at Kelham Hall in Birmingham this June.

Ms Smithen, a dancer who has a dream of opening her own dance school, also wants to use her title to promote the need for funding in the towns’ arts community, as she “is extremely proud of Kingston’s art culture, but would like to encourage more children to take part.”

Away from dancing, Ms Smithen will be getting involved within the Surrey community by helping to promote individual businesses, as well as promoting events.

She will also be raising money for Beauty with a Purpose, the Miss World charity, which supports many humanitarian projects that help disadvantaged young people.

If Ms Smithen can make it to the final of the national competition and be crowned Miss England, she will get the chance to compete in Miss World, which will be held in Washington D.C.