A FLORIST from Malmesbury was awarded with a bronze medal at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Young Florist of the Year.

Emily Hepworth, 20, owner of Persephone Violet based in Alexander Road, picked up a bronze medal at the annual competition just a week after winning the Cirencester Chamber of Commerce’s Young business person of the year.

Miss Hepworth said: “The RHS Chelsea Flower show has been a dream for me, and to be able to compete two years running has been an absolute privilege. It has been a fantastic experience, meeting the Queen has to be one of the highlights. I feel extremely proud to have done as well as I have in a competition with such high standards.”

Miss Hepworth and her fellow competitors had to create a headdress to be worn at a Brazilian Carnival. Miss Hepworth’s design was made to represent the carnival atmosphere by using Phalaenopsis orchids, Santini Chrysanthemum, Trailing Amaranthus and Hypericum berries on a wool covered bespoke wired base.

The design of the headdress took eight weeks to create and was praised by the judges for its very high standard particularly in design and technique.

Tracy Tomlinson, association manager, said: “These competitors have competed at the highest level. The RHS Chelsea competition is the pivotal moment of a florist’s career and the BFA are proud to help them achieve this goal.

The Chelsea Florist of the Year competitions are run by The British Florist Association- BFA in conjunction with the RHSA. For more information about the competition and the BFA visit the website at www.britishfloristassociation.org.