Miss GB finalist with Hartlepool links thanks town for support as she reveals what’s next

Lydia Rowlands has thanked Hartlepool for supporting her.

Lydia Rowlands, 22, faced more than 30 other contestants in the glittering final of Miss Great Britain in Leicester.

But despite making “friends for life” during the “amazing” experience last month, she has decided to bid pageants goodbye and focus on charity work.

Lydia, who lives in Milton Keynes, but whose parents were born and raised in Hartlepool, has revealed she is off to the Cayman Islands in November to coach netball and help charities.

Lydia was among more than 30 contestants competing for the Miss Great Britain title.

The business graduate, who has played netball for 14 years, said: "That was my first and final pageant. It was a great experience, but I am now focused on my charity work and different areas of life I want to experience.”

She continued: "I’ve made friends for life and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

“The final was amazing.

"I remember coming out for the bikini round and I was a bit nervous because I was like ‘I hope I don’t fall’ and I just looked up and I saw my family and I actually got a bit of tears in my eyes because they were screaming and shouting.

Lydia has said she is now focusing on doing charity work.

"That was my favourite memory of the whole pageant, just seeing my family support me. That was unforgettable for me.”

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Lydia will be back in town this weekend taking part in Race for Life on Sunday in memory of a close friend’s father who died of cancer.

She will be also be helping out the Cornerstone Supported Housing and Counselling charity in town once again after volunteering for the first time in August.

Speaking of the 5k run, Lydia said: "I’m quite looking forward to it and it would be nice for the people of Hartlepool and areas of Hartlepool to come together and do something nice for charity as well.”

She added: "I’d just like to say a big thank you to Hartlepool and Milton Keynes for the support from the community.

"Hartlepool and Milton Keynes have allowed me to do a lot of charity work, so without the community I wouldn’t actually have been able to complete the experience.”

Her parents, Mark and Christine Rowlands, are originally from West View.

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