TEACHER Liz Summerson combined her love of French and creative writing to win prizes in two national competitions.

Mrs Summerson, 57, a part-time French teacher from Hilperton Marsh, returned home from a holiday in France to find she had won second place in a competition run by magazine La Vie Outre-Manche for stories written in French.

She then received a call from the Mail on Sunday to say she had won third place in its competition for best novel openings in English.

The French language piece was a short story about a couple trying to mend their marriage in the battlefields of the Somme.

Mrs Summerson said: "I have written other things in French but nothing as creative as this. To write a story in French and express what you want to say is quite difficult."

She first started writing fiction about 10 years ago took up learning French after visiting the country as part of her job in career guidance in the 1990s.

"My learning of the language ceased at O-level but I thought if I wanted to make the most of the visit I should de-rust my French. Ever since then I haven't stopped de-rusting.

"I did a three-year degree in French when I was in my 40s. That's why I'm so enthusiastic about teaching the language to adults. Anyone can learn. My oldest student was 87. He'd never learned a language and he managed to pass two exams."

Mrs Summerson went on to gain an MA in creative writing and has had many stories published in magazines. She is currently finishing two novels.