A YOUNG Flintshire woman is bidding to become Miss Wales 2020 - a year after she thought she was going to lose her life.

Charlotte Hill, from Penymynydd, is through to the final of the competition - which aims to empower women while raising money for charity.

Miss Wales is the Welsh qualifier to the largest beauty pageant in the world - Miss World.

The winner goes on to represent Wales at Miss World 2020 in Thailand and Charlotte needs public votes to be crowned Miss Wales.

And it comes just a year after Charlotte, 18, thought she was going to die following an allergic reaction to an operation.

She explained: "I had a really bad allergic reaction to the anaesthetic and I truly thought I was going to die.

"It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced and it made me realise that I no longer wanted to live just an ordinary life and instead do something special."

Charlotte says finding out that her grandma, Margery, won Miss Padgate in 1975 inspired her to enter the competition.

She said: "My grandma's my idol and she urged me to get involved.

"When I read up about it I saw that is so much more than a beauty pageant - it's not just about looks, it's so inspiring how it empowers women and raises so much money for so many great causes."

Raising funds for through the Miss World charity, Beauty With A Purpose, the Miss Wales event has in recent years raised more than £500,000 for disadvantaged children across the country.

Charlotte currently works as a business administration apprentice in the Housing Department at Flintshire County Council, aiming to improve social housing while eliminating homelessness in Flintshire.

Prior to her current job, Charlotte volunteered in her local day nursery, teaching three year olds basic Welsh.

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And Charlotte says her work experience in the cabinet office has inspired her to support other members of society.

She currently volunteers for the Alzheimer’s Society and supports her local community, recently collecting supplies for Flintshire Food Bank.

The Miss Wales final takes place on Saturday, April 25 at The Riverfront in Newport.

And in the meantime Charlotte will undertaking a number of fundraising challenges for the charity. 

She said: "I'm going to be walking up Snowdon - which will be an incredibly difficult challenge for me as I have another operation beforehand.

"I've been volunteering in the Penymynydd community for a while now, but this competition gives me the chance to help people across the whole of Wales.

"I'd like to thank Vivian Hindley, owner of Jewels by Viv, for sponsoring me - I wouldn't be able to do any of this without her."

To vote for Charlotte in the Miss Wales final, text the word 'Welsh' and then leave a space before typing the contestant's first name 64343 - which costs £1 plus standard network charge.