The 23-year-old took the coveted title on a glittering night at Fontwell Park Racecourse.

Gemma, who works for Virgin Atlantic, pipped 12 other girls to the crown and will now go on to represent West Sussex in the Miss England competition.

Alex Williams was named runner-up for the second year running by a panel of judges including last year's winner Roxanne Hotchkiss, editor of etc magazine Clare Wallace, general manager at Spearmint Rhino Clive Lauren and managing director of Creations Hair and Beauty Salon Carolyn Sweeney.

The competition proved a Super Trouper attraction for a large crowd attending Fontwell's Mamma Mia Racenight.

It started with the 13 girls parading in eco-friendly wear, with some of the contenders choosing to craft costumes made out of the Observer in an attempt to catch the eye of judges.

The second round featured ladies dressed in sportswear before judges whittled down the list to five.

Already guaranteed her spot in the final five was Gemma, who had won a text and postal vote in the Observer.

The famous five then paraded in evening wear before judges plumped for their final three.

Yasmin Motovalli, 21, claimed third spot, with Alex, 22, just being squeezed out of top spot by Gemma.

Having been persuaded to sign up for the competition by her boyfriend, Gemma was delighted to land the prized crown.

"The whole experience has been fantastic and I still can't believe I've won," she said.

"It has been so much fun and all of the girls were great. There was a lot of strong competition. I've never done anything like this before, but I've really enjoyed it.

"I haven't even thought about Miss England – but if it's as fun as this I'm going to have a great time."

Creations Hair and Beauty did all the girls' hair and make-up on the night and Proposals has donated a gown to Gemma for her to wear in the Miss England final on Monday, July 20.

As well as the national final, Gemma can also look forward to a fantastic spa experience donated by Creations.

Bouquets presented to the top three girls were supplied by Earth, Seed to Bloom.

Fontwell Park's commercial manager (racing) Beccy Green said: "It was a great night and all of the girls looked fantastic.

"We'd like to thank all our sponsors for their support and also the judges, who had a very tough task picking the winner from such a strong line-up."

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Don't miss this week's Observer on sale May 7 a great competition to win a Miss West Sussex makeover courtesy of Creations.