Caring Mansfield teenager Emily Plant has thanked everyone who helped her to raise more than £6,000 for charity.

Emily was crowned Miss Mansfield Outstanding Teen 2019, but because of Covid-19 her appearances at fundraising events was cut short.

However, as her reign — extended because of the coronavirus pandemic — came to a close Emily was still able to announce that she had smashed her original fundraising target for Coeliac UK.

Emily, who has learned to live with Coeliac Disease and now raises awareness of it, set herself a goal to raise £3,000 towards monthly magazines, phone apps, new gluten free food, research and support.

But her final total was £6,425.56!

“I would like to say some thank yous to companies, charities and all the lovely people that made my year as a queen the best,” she said.

“Because of you I managed to make over 80 incredible appearances around Mansfield and the surrounding areas.

“It would be impossible to say individual thank yous but I will try my best.

“Firstly I want to say a massive thank you to all the local businesses that I have worked with, especially on my cake dash that helped raise a lot of money.

“I would like to say a massive thank you to the Miss Mansfield organisation, particularly Trish Mapletoft, who is our fabulous director, and Amy Beilby, who has guided me through everything.

“Another massive thank you goes to my sponsor, Mansfield Mobility Centre, for believing in me and supporting me along my pageant journey. 

“Thank you to my beautiful friends and family; your support means the world to me.

“And lastly to my mum, for driving me to all the events and straightening my crown when I needed it most!”

Emily said she had learnt many lifelong skills, made many friends and created incredible memories throughout the past years of competing in pageants and in the Miss Mansfield organisation,

“I started off as a girl who was diagnosed with a disease and feeling hopeless and afraid, but now I’m a woman who has changed the perspective of so many people by sharing my story and never giving up on a dream just because your ‘different’,” she added.

Miss Mansfield Outstanding Teen is a youth ambassador programme aimed at young ladies aged between 13 and 17. The winner works alongside Miss Mansfield at charity events.

Coeliac Disease is an auto-immune disease that causes many symptoms, including muscle wasting, poor appetite, lethargy, mood swings and emotional distress.