BRIDPORT Carnival has a new Queen – Kirsty Ellison, who auditioned the day before her 16th birthday singing I dreamed a Dream from Le Miserables.

Her crown was bestowed by last year’s winner Sophie Gibson after a ‘Bridport Carnival’s Got Talent’ style competition.

The competition was held in The Conservative Club in North Street on Sunday afternoon with judges the Rev Andrew Evans and News reporter Rene Gerryts.

They were treated to a mixture of singing, poetry, guitar and gymnastics as the contestants battled it out to impress both the judges and their well-wishers.

Ellie-May Ford, 8, gave recited a poem she’d written about the joys of Bridport, and Maisie Little, 10, did the same with her short poem and a tune on her guitar – an instrument she’d only taken up this year.

Maisie, a pupil at Bridport Primary School, was crowned Carnival Princess. She said it was ‘awesome’ to win on her first time entering.

She said: “I started the guitar this year and I like writing poems. I am really looking forward to being part of the carnival.”

Friends Rosey Edwards, 9, and Ellie Hopgood, 10, gave a gymnastics’ display, which prompted the judges to bend the rules and award them the honour of Carnival attendants.

Fiona Barron, 12, bravely overcame her nerves to sing the Elton John song How Wonderful Life Is, and 13-year-old Molly Gay, sang Clean Bandit’s There’s No Place I’d Rather Be.

Judge Andrew Evans said: “We’d like to say thank you everybody who entered and for all that you have done and all the skills that you have shown.

“What we look for is a degree of skill and commitment to learn and if you don’t win this year, because not everybody can win, do still keep applying because it does not mean that you might not win in a future year.

“So I want to encourage and thank everybody who has come and performed here this year and it has been very difficult for us to choose.”

“Keep up the good work with all the things that you are doing and all the skills that you are learning, the poems that you are writing and the songs that you are singing, it is really very good.”

Carnival committee chairman said it had been the judges’ decision to change the rules, partly in response to the lack of entrants for the Queen competition and partly because they had been unable to resist the charm of the two gymnasts.

Mr Fox added: “It is hard to believe it is only 44 days to carnival. A lot of work goes into the carnival each year and it is all done voluntarily.”

Carnival Queen Sir John Colfox School pupil Kirsty has been entering the competition since 2012.

She said: “It is really good to win.

“It means a lot to me. It was something I started a couple of years ago and I have made so many friends from it.”

“From 2012 when I was an attendant I have grown so much in myself, it helps having made friends through it who come back with you.”

Kirsty is going on to do her A levels, including performing arts, media and English language.

Relinquishing her crown, Sophie said she would encourage more people to enter.

She said: “It was marvellous representing the community. I enjoyed doing the carnival and the torchlight procession and I got to do the Christmas Cheer in December when I sat in a sleigh and got to ride around pulled by reindeers which was really nice.

“I just love going out into the town and seeing everyone cheering and having a good time and being a part of that.”

The carnival procession is on Saturday, August 15 and the torchlight procession on Sunday, August 16.