Feisty female solider puts an end to Miss England's swimsuit round

A feisty female soldier who was the 2009 winner of the Miss England beauty pageant has put an end to a 50-year tradition.

Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge has successfully urged organisers of the competition to replace the traditional swimsuit round with a sports challenge.

The brunette soldier, known to her colleagues as Combat Barbie, says: "I think it's nerve-racking enough for girls to get up on a stage and speak, let alone appear in a swimsuit."

Miss England organiser Angie Beasley states that the new addition of a sports challenge proves that that the competition is constantly evolving from its traditional beauty pageant image.

But Ms Hodge is no stranger to getting what she wants - she recently won a commendation for disarming and detaining a suspected Iraqi rebel fighter when she was on a tour of duty in the country.

The beauty also became the new face of an advertising campaign by lingerie store La Senza, which offers a 15 per cent discount to all British servicemen and women.

Posted by Samantha Thompson

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