A Neston student has won joint first place in a heat of the prestigious World Skills competition.

Beth Coulson, 18, from Neston is currently on Level 2 of a City and Guilds floristry course at Wiltshire College Lackham.

She travelled to Chichester to compete in one of eight countrywide heats of the competition, which is open to anyone at Level 2 or with two years or less experience in floristry.

The teenager was delighted to achieve joint first place.

She said: “I couldn’t believe it. I really liked the other competitors’ work and was very surprised to win.

“It was a real learning curve and I hadn’t used some of the materials before in my work.”

The theme of her heat was Garden wedding.

She was provided with the materials to create a bridesmaid’s bouquet, a corsage, a table arrangement and a wedding cake decoration, all timed, and is now one of 10 finalists to go through to the UK Skills Final at the Malvern Autumn Show in September.

In order to be a finalist, competitors must achieve the top 10 scores from their heats. Miss Coulson will know if she is one of the lucky 10 after the heats finish in June.

She added: “It would really boost my confidence to get to the finals and know that I can produce competition worthy work.

“If I was lucky enough to win the UK skills competition, I would be mentored by world class florists who are experts in competitions themselves.”

Tutor Ann Paisley said: “It’s so valuable for students to take part in competitions and we encourage them to do so. It’s important for them to get feedback from another source.”

In the meantime, Beth hopes to progress to her Level 3 floristry qualification and pursue her dream to work abroad as a florist.