With her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders and a tiny mini dress, Mel Slade looks every inch the wannabe model.

The picture, in today's Daily Echo, is certainly not the type of pose you would expect from the young daughter of Southampton's first citizen - but times have changed and this isn't any ordinary mayor's daughter.

At just 18 and studying for her A-levels, Mel Slade has shot into the limelight as the girlfriend of teenage soccer star and former Saints forward Theo Walcott.

Mel has been captured in a series of provocative poses in a photo shoot for men's magazine Arena next month, including a cover shot.

Student Mel, who is studying for A-levels at Itchen College in Southampton, shot to fame last summer after Theo was selected by Sven-Goran Eriksson as part of England's 23-strong squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The couple met while Mel was working in Claire's Accessories in West-Quay shopping centre and Theo was a junior at Southampton.

Mel, whose dad John is Mayor of Southampton, was introduced to the wives and girlfriends of the England squad last summer on a pre-tournament visit to Portugal and quickly made friends with Victoria Beckham.

In an interview in the magazine she said: "Before I met Victoria I thought she'd be a bit stuck up. But she was lovely. She gave me some jeans and stuff from her label."

A full version of this interview and more pictures appear in the February issue of Arena, which is out now.