A BEAUTY queen from Blaenau Ffestiniog has reached the finals of Miss Wales.

Shonie Williams, 19, will take part in a prestigious pageant in April 2018 and hopes to use the competition to help raise money and awareness for charity.

The teenager, who works as a general assistant at Gwesty Seren, a facility which offers holidays and respite care for those with disabilities, has already won the title of Face of North West England last year and came second place in the ‘Princess’ category in The Face of Europe and the World event held at Disneyland Paris earlier this year.

Shonie’s acceptance into the Miss Wales finals marks a happy ending for a long held dream.

“I was so excited when I heard I got accepted to compete in the finals of Miss Wales,” the former Ysgol y Moelwyn pupil said.

Read the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News