A WOMAN from Little Sutton will make up part of Team England in The Dog Grooming World Championships 2024.
Joanne Silk-Smith has been a dog groomer for 12 years. She opened her business K9Transfurmations, which is based in Ledsham in 2018.
Specialising in grooming the breed cocker spaniels, Joanne competes in dog grooming competitions across the country every six to eight weeks.
The 42-year-old said: "When I compete in competitions there is a points system and if you get first place you get five points and second place, you get four and you also get one for best in show.
"Whoever has the most points in each category by the end of the two years goes forward onto the England team."
Next year, with a date and location yet to be confirmed, Joanne, who will compete in the Spaniel and Setter category, along with Nancy Brincat (Pure breed scissors), Julia Fox (Handstrip) and Christine Anderton (Poodle) will represent England in The Dog Grooming World Championships 2024.
This competition occurs every two years, and in the last competition, in 2022, England took home the trophy.
Joanne added: "I went last year to support England and there was around 32 other countries competing.
"This is something I've worked towards for a long time. I have always believed that I could do it and now I've finally achieved my dreams it's quite nice."
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