A talented singer, dancer and actress, who has been performing in Ashford since the age of five, has won a scholarship to a top performing arts academy.

Ellie Fiore, 16, is preparing to leave her family home in Park Farm and take up a place at the Reynolds Performing Arts Academy in Bexley.

Ellie has been on the stage since she was tiny and has performed in professional pantos, including Cinderella, Aladdin and Snow White at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury and the White Rock Theatre in Hastings.

She used to sing for elderly people at the William Harvey Hospital and just a few weeks ago was in Little Shop of Horrors at Homewood School in Tenterden.