TWELVE months ago, Megan Thompson sat in her house cursing the organisers of the Royal Lancashire Show for causing miles of tailbacks which kept her blocked in for two days.

Yesterday, she was the queen of the show after being crowned the first ever Miss Royal Lancashire in a beauty pageant with a difference.

The 18-year-old former Westholme School, Blackburn, pupil, couldn't live much closer to the Salesbury Hall Farm show site if she tried.

And the would-be actress, who lives in Dinckley, the tiny hamlet adjoining the site, said: "I'll definitely have better memories of this year's show than last year's!

"I was stuck indoors all the time because the traffic was so bad we couldn't get anywhere. But this year's has been much better organised.

"And I never thought I'd win this either."

Megan's victory was in an event only introduced for the first time this year as part of the show organisers' attempts to widen the appeal of a show with its roots deep in the agricultural world.

Up until last year, the nearest you'd come to hearing praise for the beauty of one of the exhibits might have been an admiring farmer's thoughts on a friend's Hereford Bull, or applause for the beautiful wool coming off a Suffolk ram.

At 2pm yesterday, that all changed.

In a marquee which provided its guests with all the dignity of a sauna -- it was hot, sweaty and stifling -- 19 girls paraded before an appreciative audience along a red catwalk with chandeliers hanging above them and elaborate bouquets of flowers guarding their entrance.

Miss World this was not , although Wendy George, the Wigan-based organiser of the pageant, is a former Miss GB from a year which was not quite audible when she was asked by the compere.

The audience was an eclectic mix of anxious boyfriends, bemused visitors, curious teenage boys hoping to see a bit of flesh, and a stuffed horse won in a nearby side stall.

The teenage boys, perhaps hoping for 60s style bikini parades, left disappointed. This was a pageant for the 21st century --one with style and one which, maybe surprisingly, didn't seem to fall out of favour with anyone.

For paparazzi, there were four or five well-behaved snappers, and as for catfights apparently so legendary at these events, well, there were none.

From the dressing room came nothing but tales of new-found friendships and a determination to enjoy the day.

In the first round, 19 girls came out on stage, one at a time, and the audience greeted them with polite applause. Details were given about their occupations, their homes, and what they enjoyed doing. They included Francesca Moon, 16, from Wilpshire; Nadia Butt, 20, from Gorse Road, Blackburn; Laura Connell, 18, from Goosnargh, and Victoria Eskdale, from Higher Ramsgreave, Blackburn. Sophie Towers, 16, a former Walshaw High School, Burnley, pupil who now lives in Balderstone and attends the Northern Ballet School, made it to the final seven. So did Daniella Freemason, 17, from Trent Road, Nelson; and, of course, Megan.

As for pastimes and hobbies, shopping -- or 'interest in fashion' as it was described by one --featured high in most biographies, as did going to the gym and, in the case of Daniella 'fishing' and Megan 'clay pigeon shooting.'

It would have been easy to raise an eye to such suggestions and claim they'd only mentioned such country pursuits to win over the judges, but both held their own when asked in-depth questions about their chosen sports. And no, none of the final seven spoke about a desire for 'world peace.'

One girl did go for the charitable pitch. Jane Slater, 23, had travelled from Rugby near Coventry for the event, and highlighted how she was an under-11s football coach, a girl guide ambassador and, from September, a trainee teacher. It didn't cut the mustard with the judges, who ultimately plumped for the most local of local lasses as their winner.

Wendy George said: "It's been a wonderful day, I hope it becomes a fixture every year and more and more people take part.

"This is the 21st century, there's no need to criticise this event. We aren't forcing people to take part."

Will it be the start of a glittering career on the catwalk for Megan though? "I don't think so," the Clitheroe Royal Grammar School sixth-former laughed after picking up her sash: "I want to be an actress but I did really enjoy today, so I might do another if it comes along."

Rennie Pinder, the show's chairman, said: "Events like this broaden the appeal of the show."