AN aspiring model from West Devon is appealing to Times readers to help her through the next stage of a top modelling competition.

Emma Lewis, from Tavistock, has entered the Make Me the Next Model 2011 competition, run by clothing store Next, and needs readers' votes to get her into the 250 finalists.

The finalists will be invited to London at the end of July for a special one-day course at Next's Runway Academy, where they will meet industry experts who will offer advice on all aspects of modelling. A panel of judges will choose a top 50 shortlist to return for the following day's live grand final.

Emma said: 'At the moment I have quite a way to go to get to the top 250, there are so many people who do social networking better than I do and have thousands of votes.

'To win I need to be voted in the top 250 by having people click on the link and vote for me.'

The winner of the competition will enjoy a £2,000 shopping spree at Next, the chance to star in a photo-shoot for Next and a special introduction to leading model agency, Storm.

'It will mean a lot to win as most fashion models have to be over 5ft 8ins, and this is a break that overlooks this demonstrating that height is not always an issue in the fashion world.'