A Brentwood medical student has sets her sights on Europe after becoming the Face of London.

Arathi Menon, 19, was crowned the winner of the beauty pageant’s London heats and secured a place in the grand final of the Face of Europe competition, which is due to take place next month in Disneyland Paris.

Arathi, a second year medical student at Imperial College London, said: “The Face of Europe is the first beauty pageant I have ever entered, so I was thrilled and very surprised when I won first place in the London heats.

“I am only 5 feet tall, so I never thought that I had what it took to win a pageant, but Face of Europe is very different from many other pageants as there is no height restriction.

“The judges really do look for the whole package, so my mum convinced me that I should apply and try it out.”

The budding doctor has also completed an acting course and appeared in TV shows including Crimewatch, The Bill and Hunted.

Arathi modelled when she was younger and appeared in pre-teen magazines Girl Talk and Go Girl.

She added: “I had modelled but entering a beauty pageant was an idea that had never occurred to me. However, I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and entered the competition, as it has been a really character-building experience and I have made so many lovely friends.”

She will be raising money for two charities through the pageant – Headway East Kent and The Rainbow Child Foundation.

If you would like to sponsor Arathi and help raise money for her charities you can log on to https://www.charitiestrust.org/members_data/event/arathifaceofeurope/index.html.