THE tragedy of losing her partner has pushed a young Suffolk woman to compete in a national beauty competition as it would have made him proud.

Rebecca Johnson, from Fornham St Martin, near Bury St Edmunds, has already been crowned Miss Suffolk, and is now hoping to win the prestigious Miss Great Britain title on December 4.

The 21-year-old said she had gone through the most horrendous experience after losing her partner of five years Gary Evans, 21, a mechanic at Tollgate Tyres in Bury St Edmunds, in a motorbike accident in April last year.

She said: “I think losing someone is the worst thing anyone can ever go through. I don’t think the pain goes away, but I think you just learn to live with it.

“But winning this [Miss Suffolk] has obviously brought a lot of comfort for me because I know he [Gary] would be so proud of me and it’s something good. And I can show others there’s kind of a positive side to things still. You can still have a positive future.”

She added: “Going through something like this has definitely made me realise that life can be short and you have to grab every opportunity that comes your way and make the most out of life.”

Miss Johnson, of Fulford Close, said she had always wanted to be a model so she was “really pleased” with how far she had come in the competition.

At the Miss Suffolk final she said she did not tell anyone about her painful year as she did not want sympathy votes.

Miss Johnson, a former pupil of King Edward VI School in Bury, said the pageant was not just about being a pretty face.

“You have to have so much more than that – personality and being a good role model,” she said.

She is preparing for the competition by going to the gym regularly and getting all her outfits together.

Designer Terry Fox, based in Bury, is sponsoring her and is making her a “beautiful dress” for the final, she said.

Miss Johnson is competing against 59 other girls for the coveted Miss Great Britain title at the final at the Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare.

She is appealing for the public to vote for her by texting Miss Suffolk to 81118 as the girl with the most votes gets fast-tracked to the top 12.