WHEN she was at school she would get bullied because of her size.

Now Danielle Jurd is fighting back and showing that big can be beautiful.

After suffering abuse from other children being nasty to her and putting her down because of her size, Hampshire teenager Danielle Jurd is now vying for the crown of Miss Plus Size International 2013.

The 19-year-old is the only contestant from the south east hoping to get the tiara and sash when she goes to the finals in October this year.

A former pupil of Hollybrook Junior School in Southampton, she is hoping to use the event as a way to combat discrimination against size.

But Danielle, from Colden Common, had to cope with a lot of abuse when she was younger, simply because others saw her as ugly.

“I got bullied quite badly when I was 13. There were some girls who were a couple of years older than me.

“There was a group of them. It was all about my weight.

“I would have things thrown at me while I was on the school bus.

“I wasn’t overweight I was just bigger than the average girl.

“I was forced to wear men’s clothes, I was very unhappy.

“I never wanted to go out with my friends.

“It does have an effect on you – you become depressed you start to put yourself down when someone tells you you’re fat.

“Now I don’t get it that much, people don’t tend to see you as a target when you’ve got confidence.

“Now I don’t care what people think of me,” she said.

Over the years her confidence grew and she started to hit back at those who said things to her.

Now Danielle, who is engaged, is going out on to the catwalk to prove that anyone of any size can be beautiful in her first beauty pageant.

“I think it is a fantastic, inspiring competition.

“It shows that all women should feel good about themselves.

“I think all women are beautiful regardless of their weight or size,”

she added.