Milton Keynes girl ruthlessly bullied at school for her looks becomes finalist in Miss Teen Great Britain beauty contest

Lilly-Ann Prestedge, who is 19, has suffered from low self-esteem for years due to the bullies’ nasty jibes about her looks.

"She has never thought herself good enough, attractive enough, tall or short enough,” said her mum Antonia Evans.

"She was tormented by bullies because her skin wasn’t flawless and her teeth where not perfect. She was called names and humiliated on social media, all of which impacted her not only physically but mentally.”

Today though those bullies are set to get a real shock.

For Lilly-Ann plucked up courage to enter Miss Teen Great Britain 2022 – and she has been picked as one of the grand finalists.

The contest gives young women the opportunity to make new friends and incredible memories, while celebrating “everything positive” about being a teenager.

Antonia said: “After a lot of encouragement, Lilly feels as though she is ready to embrace the fact she doesn’t have perfect skin or hair and that social media isn’t what we should look up to in terms of our personal appearance.

"Social media and sociality as a whole has portrayed the way our children should look… Yet we are all imperfectly beautiful and we should embrace each other.

"This is something Lilly is hoping to show any young girls out there who have been made to feel the same way that she did. There is no perfect.”

Lilly-Ann, who lives in Wavendon and strives to become a dental nurse, will travel to Blackpool next month to take part in the contest, which offers a glittering array of prizes.

Though she is still very shy and a harsh self-critic, the contest has given her confidence a real boost, said her mum.

Lilly-Ann recently acted as a model for wedding dresses at The Garden Room in Newport Pagnell – and she looked absolutely stunning.

“She is a very caring young lady and we look forward to working with her again in the future,” said the shop owners.