TEENAGE singer Lauren Jackson was a bag of nerves before a national competition.

But her anxiety did not stop her belting out a winning version of the musical hit, Movie in my Mind, from Miss Saigon.

Lauren, 16, of Pogmoor Lane, took part in the competition that was held on the south coast and said: "I'm used to performing and don't usually get that nervous. But, because we had gone all the way down to Bournemouth, if we had not got anywhere in the competition it would have been a waste of time.

"Some of the other contestants had been really good so I said to myself, 'Get up there, try your hardest and if you don't get anywhere it doesn't matter'."

Lauren's one girl pep-talk did the trick. She said: "It was a surprise to win so I'm really pleased with it. You are always in a daze when you are on stage, you can't soak in what you are doing."

Lauren competed with fellow Barnsley College students Kirsty Daley (I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables) and Helen Hadfield (I Feel Pretty from West Side Story).

The trio were put forward for the UK Skills Challenge Musical Theatre competition for college students across the country.

On Wednesday Barnsley College will host another UK Skills contest for singer/songwriters from across the UK.

The town will be represented by students Steph Shaw and Laura Kelly, who will be up against competition from Aberdeen, Glasgow and London.