A DARWEN woman has become Britain’s only working cowgirl after she beat off strong competition to land the unique job.

Lancashire lass Lisa Hawthornthwaite, 30, is employed by The National Trust to herd cattle and horses around a 750 hectare plot of land in Studland, deep in the Dorset countryside.

And the former Darwen Vale High School pupil admitted the new job was in stark contrast to her upbringing in a terraced house in Sandringham Road, Darwen.

Lisa said: “Working with cows is definitely easier than dealing with people!

“I heard the job advertised on the radio and applied for it but I didn’t think I would get it. I just thought it sounded like a really good job and I’m really pleased that I got it.”

After finishing school, Lisa went and studied an agricultural diploma at Myerscough College, near Garstang, and moved to Dorset eight years ago where she started work as a care nurse for the terminally ill.

After a while she looked for a change in career and started working for a Dorset farmer before the opportunity arose to become a cowgirl.

Instead of having a company car, Lisa rides round on a horse named Ossie and has to herd 15 Red Devon cows and 18 Exmoor ponies around the heathland where they will stay for the winter.

According to The National Trust, without grazing animals the heath would lose most of its rare wildlife and become overgrown and wooded.

Lisa added: “It’s great being out in the countryside and doing something that I enjoy.

“I’ve always been interested in horses and animals and this just brings the two together.

“Originally, we were meant to be using normal vehicles to herd the cows and horses but some parts of the land are hard to get to, so having Ossie makes life easier.”