TEENAGER Bryony Gibbons has beaten more than  9,000 other girls to reach the  last 40 of the UK’s Miss Teen  Queen competition.

And the 15-year-old, from  Coates Road, Broadfields, is  hoping readers will help  make her dream come true  by voting her into the finals.

Bryony, a student at West  Exe Technology College, St  Thomas, decided to enter the  competition during a quiet  night at home.

She said: “Mum and dad  were out and I  was a bit bored  so I decided to look through  the internet for pageants and  competitions and so on. I do  that now and again just to see  what is going on.

“I came across the Teen  Queen site and  entered. It  turned out there were more  than 9,500 entries and then  they whittled it down to the  last 40 and I got through.

“Last week I went up for a  photoshoot in London with  my dad — and they emailed  me to say I had made it into  the last 20.

“I couldn’t believe it. Now I  need as many people as possible to vote for me. It would  be wonderful to reach the  finals this summer, it is  something I really want to  do.”

Bryony is senior lead mace  for the Exeter Blue Anchor  Majorettes and has already  done some modelling — on  the catwalk at her school  showing off prom dresses.

She also received rave revues for her performance in  Othello at Exeter Phoenix.

She said: “Othello was the  highlight of my life so far and  I am hoping to do drama at  Exeter College.

 “To get through to the finals of Teen Queen would be  so wonderful.”

Bryony’s  father, Adrian  Gibbons, 43, a plumber, said:  “She has done really well and  I am very proud of her.

“It all came out of the blue  for us because we didn’t even  know she had entered.

“I went up to London with  her for the photoshoot last  week and was the only dad  there, all the other girls went   with their mums.

 “It was a real eye-opener  but everyone was very pleasant and it was quite relaxing.

“She is very keen on this  sort of thing and all we need  now is for people to vote for  her. It would be a dream  come true for her.”

The competition is supported by Skills Train UK,  which is offering training  courses to all category winners, giving them a career  kick-start.

The UK’s first teen beauty  pageant was held in 2006 for  teenagers aged 13-19.

 Among the main sponsors  is Fake Bake, a self tan and  spray tan brand.

 To vote for Bryony text  Bryony Gibbons to 84205, at  60p per text. The closing date  is Sunday, February 28.