Teen who stopped eating because bullies called her ugly is now Miss England semi-finalist

Paige Lilly Alexander, 17, made a name for herself as a child model but her mum Lisa believes that jealous bullies targeted her daughter because of her looks, calling her 'ugly'

By Becca Husselbee  17:11, 4 APR 2018 UPDATED 18:29, 4 APR 2018

Paige Lilly Alexander pictured at the Miss East Midlands heat of Miss England (Image: Caters News Agency)

A teenager is competing to become Miss England after finally beating the bullies who tormented her so ruthlessly that she stopped eating as a child.

Paige Lilly Alexander, 17, made a name for herself as a child model but her mum Lisa believes that jealous bullies targeted her daughter because of her looks, calling her 'ugly'.

The constant abuse from bullies at school via social media caused the teenager to stop eating and her weight dropped dramatically until her concerned parents rushed her to a doctor.

But Paige, who was bullied throughout her years at primary school and secondary school, has now turned her life around after studying a beauty course and has now qualified for the Miss England semi-finals.

Paige stopped eating as a child after bullies repeatedly called her 'ugly' (Image: Caters News Agency)

Despite the bullying, Paige has now turned her life around, she's studying to be a beautician and has qualified for the Miss England semi-finals (Image: Caters News Agency)

Mum, Lisa, 49, from Thorneywood, Nottingham, said: "We are so proud of how far Paige has come.

"She has always had issues with bullies and we put it down to jealousy. She was featured in adverts and kids magazines when she was younger and I think they targeted her because of it.

"They would call her ugly, tell her no one liked her and how she had no friends and she really struggled to cope with the constant abuse.

"She started picking at her food or telling me she had already eaten and it wasn't until she was sat in her room one day, wrapped in a towel, that I could see her bones.

"She looked painfully thin and pale.

Paige modelled in various kids magazines as a young child (Image: Caters News Agency)

"I took her straight to the doctors before things got any worse and she was offered counselling to overcome it."

Paige is now studying to be a beauty technician but she previously worked as a child model, staring in adverts for Sunny D as well as several kid's magazines.

The abuse escalated when Paige went to secondary school when a group of girls threatened to throw a chair at her and Lisa was called in by teachers.

However, since getting involved in Miss England pageants, mum Lisa believes her daughter has thrived and it's helped build her confidence after also moving her to a new school.

The creative teenager made a dress from recycled Weight Watchers packaging for the eco-friendly round of the competition to represent the theme of living a healthy lifestyle.

Her mum thinks jealous bullies targeted Paige because of her looks (Image: Caters News Agency)

The student entered her first pageant on March 24, where she was crowned runner-up in the Miss Nottingham heat, winning herself a spot at the Miss England semi-finals in July.

Lisa, who works in customer services, said: "The bullies ran Paige down but she has really turned herself around.

"She was so brave during her presentation in the eco round, she stood and told everyone her whole story. It took a lot for her to do that.

"She's always been so positive and still wanted to go to school but after things got worse she hated going.

"Doing the pageant has really made her come out of her comfort zone and she's made so many supportive friends now.

"I'd hate to think what could have happened if things had carried on the way they had."

Paige will now go on to compete in Miss Coventry on April 6, as well as Miss Grimsby, on April 13, and will go to the Miss England semi-final on July 3, at Kelham Hall, in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

Lisa said: "She is very keen to start talking about her experience and sharing it by visiting schools.

"Doing Miss England has massively built her confidence.

"She's just blossomed."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teen-who-stopped-eating-because-12303568