A young girl has followed her dream of becoming a pageant princess after winng the Diamond UK Beauty Pageant.

Maia Andrei won the title of Miss Junior Diamond Photogenic at the Diamond Pageants UK held in Wigan last week.

The eight-year-old's father Alin, 39, said he "could not be prouder" of his daughter.

Alongside her pageant work, which includes coaching sessions and a lot of practice, Maia is a keen swimmer, practises musical theatre and is even learning to speak Chinese.

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Alin said: “Maia has always loved dresses and dressing up. She was a runner up when she first completed a pageant at age four.

“She was so gutted she didn’t win and has had her heart set on winning a beauty pageant ever since.

“It makes me so proud that she loves school and learning.

"She is studying musical theatre with Stagecoach; she does break dancing, swimming and is learning Chinese.

“We have tried to tell her that she needs to cut down some of her activities to save her from exhaustion but she told us she can handle it and so far, she has been right.”

But the excitement of winning a national competition does not end there, as Maia has set her sights even higher.

She is ready and raring to go overseas next summer for an exciting competition. 

In July next year, Maia will go on to represent the UK internationally at Global Icon Pageants in Los Angeles.

This will be the fifth time that Maia has entered at pageant and the first time she will be representing the UK overseas.

She will also set to walk the runway at London Fashion Week, representing an American designer.

Alin added: “Maia has never been to the United States to say she is excited would be an understatement.

“She just loves being on the stage and on a scale of one to 10 its an 11 for her.

“I could not be prouder when she won at the Diamond UK Beauty Pageant and I could see the happiness in her eyes.”