Daughter and mum celebrate Miss Great Britain success

A Scottish woman who was crowned Miss Great Britain celebrated alongside her mum who was one of the top-placed competitors in the over-45s category.

Amy Meisak, 29, beat 37 other contestants to land the pageant title in Leicester at the end of October.

At the same event, her mum Laurie, 60, finished first runner-up in the Ms Great Britain Classic competition.

The mother-of-four told the BBC that doing pageants gave her back her confidence and she was "loving life".

Laurie, from Hamilton, told BBC Scotland's Mornings with Kaye Adams she had been hesitant to enter because of her age.

She said: "You always do have a wee bit of 'oh should I or shouldn't I at my age now?' but, you know something, I absolutely love being my age.

"I think after you've had four children or however many children you have, you kind of lose your confidence a wee bit and doing pageantry has definitely given me my confidence back in life."

Her property investor daughter Amy told the programme she had been taking part in pageants for years and her mother was always a great support.

She said: "Mum has always come to the pageants with me and always been my cheerleader.

"She knew all the pageant mums and she loved the glitz and the glamour.

"I said 'Mum, you should really think about entering this' and I think her words were, 'well, if you do it, I'll do it'."

Both Amy and Laurie believe that pageants are not just about how you look.

They said it was an environment where women supported each other.

Amy said that pageants had a positive influence on her and allowed her to meet some of her closest friends.

She said that the past 12 months had been a "real challenge" for her family.

Amy was diagnosed with the auto-immune disease Lupus earlier this year and her grandfather, whom she was very close to, passed away.

She said the competition involved the contestants being judged in different categories.

Amy believes she stood out from the crowd as she had created a ladies' empowerment workshop called Limitless.

It seeks to support women by giving them the tools and skills they need to overcome life challenges.

After both of their successes in the competition, Amy and Laurie are unsure if they will return to the pageant world, but both say "never say never".