A BORDERS woman has been crowned Miss Edinburgh at a pageant held in the capital last week.

Holly Jane Reshad, 24 from Lauder, took the title at the final held at Le Monde Hotel, George St, on October 28.

The competition saw Holly go head to head with 16 other finalists over four rounds; casual wear, swimwear, sportswear and evening wear.

As a keen rider, Holly wore her horse-riding outfit in the sports round to demonstrate her hobbies of show jumping and showing.

Holly put herself forward for the Miss Edinburgh competition when she saw an online advert looking for applicants.

She said: “I did cheerleading with Edinburgh Capitals but when that was no more my weekends felt a bit empty and I was looking for something else.

"When this came up, I put myself forward.”

Following an interview with organisers and a photoshoot with Harley Davidson she took to the stage on final night and bagged herself the crown.

On hand to support her in the audience were her mum, dad, step-dad, brother, sister and her boss.

Holly is a student at Napier University in Edinburgh working towards a degree in animal biology.

When she’s not studying, she works at a poultry farm in Earlston.

As title holder Holly will now spend the year as an ambassador for Kidney Research UK and is already looking forward to fundraising.

Looking ahead she said: “I’ve already got some plans of what I will do with Kidney Research UK and, with my background in farming and having had horses all my life, I would love to work with local animal charities.

“I also want to get involved with mental health.

"There is so much pressure on young people these days to look a certain way.

"We see perfection on social media everyday and it effects a lot of people so I’m thinking of something I can do around that.”