A WOMAN who has dreamt of becoming Miss England since she was a child has made it to the finals.

Headington resident Shirin O’Neill has been crowned Popularity Queen and offered a place in the finals of the beauty contest.

The 21-year-old said: “I’m so incredibly excited.

“It’s always been my dream to be Miss England and I’m one step closer to it now.”

The City of Oxford College graduate has entered the competition every year since turning 17, but this is the first time she has reached the finals.

The professional model has had to overcome dyspraxia to get there.

Miss O’Neill was diagnosed with the developmental co-ordination disorder in 2011.

She said: “It does affect me quite a lot.

“When I speak to people I do begin to stutter, and I just have to think about what I’m going to say before I say it. I also get flustered very easily, I remember when I had my first driving lesson I had a panic attack at the wheel, I just wasn’t able to control it.”

Dyspraxia also affects sufferer’s ability to write.

Miss O’Neill said that she “lacked confidence” and had trouble with public speaking due to her condition.

She said: “The competition has helped me tackle a lot of my confidence issues around public speaking.”

On May 30, she won the title of Popularity Queen at the Miss England semi-final held in Leicester and was crowned by the incumbent Miss England, Cambridge University medical student Catrina Tyrell.

The victory propels her into the final in August at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.