Miss Lincolnshire contender following dream with charity work

Rebecca-Jay Fearn planned a 82-mile charity cycle from Mansfield to Skegness, as one of the rounds of the competition to find the young woman to represent the county in the Miss England pageant.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year's Miss Lincolnshire 20/21 final is being held as a virtual event to be live-streamed later in January.

The competition is made up of several rounds - catwalk, photoshoot, charity, talent and public vote.

In completing the ride as her charity entry, Rebecca will be following the achievement of her grandma.

Born in Mansfield with a degree in theatre from Derby University, Rebecca now lives in Skegness and said: "The charity round is one of my favourite rounds and I hope to prove to my friends and family that beauty pageants have come along way since they started and show them how much the Miss England pageant does for the community and for charity.

"To raise money for beauty with a purpose the Miss World official charity, which helps disadvantaged children and women from all across the world, I decided to cycle from the town where I was born Mansfield to Skegness.

"My grandma did this same thing when she was just 15, so the ride also has a lot of sentimental value."

"Last year I did a skydive for charity, jumping out of a plane at 15,000ft and raising £600 for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

"On New Year’s Day, I hosted a virtual charity concert including lots of local upcoming artists."

Rebecca says she would love to represent her county and her town. "There is so much Skegness has to offer and I would love to show off how wonderful it is throughout the competition," she said.

"I even filmed my catwalk video on the sea front beach, to show of the beautiful Lincolnshire coast."

Rebecca also hopes to be able to build awareness of mental wellness and self-confidence.

"If I win Miss Lincolnshire I want to start confidence workshops in local school to build awareness of mental wellness and self confidence," she said. "I have always struggled with self-confidence and .anxiety and depression.

"It's something I’ve been working hard to improve over the last few years. Entering this pageant and pushing myself out of my comfy zone has been a great way to show off my new found confidence and help me gain even more.

"I also want to promote and work with local business in Skegness.

"I do regular beach cleans and since living by the coast I have become so aware of protecting our sea against plastic pollution and waste."

Anyone who wants to support Rebecca can download the Miss England app free of charge and vote on the Miss Lincolnshire and Yorkshire voting sections.