A Workington pupil is celebrating after reaching the second round of a nationwide competition.

Taylor Smith, 11, of Northside Primary School, is taking part in the BBC's 500 Words short story competition.

More than 120,000 children have signed up and Taylor is one of 4,500 to make the next stage.

Taylor, a year six pupil, wrote a story called Rocking Revenge from the perspective of a classroom chair.

She said: "I felt shocked and excited to find out I'd made the second round out of just 4,500 children.

"It was very unexpected. I like writing stories because you can express yourself and use your imagination to develop the characters within the story."

The 500 Words short story competition is an annual event which aims to encourage youngsters to be creative and write stories.

The entrants will eventually be narrowed down to just 50 and a panel of authors including Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Francesca Simon will decide on the winner with help from honorary judge The Duchess of Cornwall.

The overall winner will be announced at the final at Shakespeare's Globe in London on Friday, May 27.