By. Katy Winter. A woman who was bullied as a teenager and branded an ‘ugly lesbian’ because of her short hair has had the last laugh - by getting through to the finals of a national beauty pageant. Kirsty Baxter, 23, suffered severe bouts of depression and even attempted suicide after years of torment. She was targeted by cruel playground bullies where she grew up in Leicester who teased her because of her edgy looks and interest in rock music. Kirsty (left, age 5, right, age 12) was horribily bullied as a child for her short her and alternative appearance. Kirsty beat 20 other women to come second in the regional rounds of the Miss Dream Street competition. Kirsty started self-harming as a teenager and was caught minutes after taking an overdose when she was 14. But she has now overcome her confidence issues after finding success in a beauty pageant and has been contacted by a number of modelling and acting agencies. Kirsty beat 20 other women to come second in the regional rounds of the Miss Dream Street competition. She was just one point behind the winner and has been entered into the national finals in Birmingham on Saturday. Yesterday, Kirsty said: 'When I applied to the beauty pageant I never thought I would be first runner up in the regional rounds like alone go through to the finals. 'I’ve never considered myself to be attractive, beautiful or anything like the kind of beauty that’s associated with beauty pageants. Kirsty, pictured age 18, was tormented by her peers, branded an 'ugly lesbian' because of her short hair. Kirsty, pictured backstage at a beauty pageant, entered the competition on a whim when she saw it on Facebook. 'I was bullied from about the age of 10 right up to 18 because of my looks. 'It started with typical high school bullying and as I got older it progressed to centred around my appearance. 'I don’t think I was fat but I was bullied because I was larger and I had short hair and everyone else was doing the teeny bop thing in the 90s. 'But I dyed my hair pink and listened to rock music. I always felt different to everybody else. 'I found two people who I thought were friends but then I found out they were spreading rumours behind my back. Kristy says that pageants have done more for her confidence than any other form of therapy she has tried. 'It was things like because I had short hair I was a lesbian, so no girls would ever come near me. 'I was always ostracised, it became a voice in my head wherever I went that said ‘you’re completely unattractive’. 'Because of this I became depressed and started self-harming and I attempted an overdose when I was 14. 'That was when my mum became aware of the bullying because she walked in on me. 'She was able to help me out and talk about it.' Kirsty has recently completed a degree in Drama and Performance as well as a postgraduate degree in Theatre for Young Audiences at the University of Worcester. She is now auditioning for film and TV roles and plans to enter other beauty pageants thanks to her new-found confidence. Kirsty, who now lives in Worcester with her boyfriend Mark Games, 34, added: 'When I was younger there was no-one that I could look up to who looked different. Kirsty has recently completed a degree in drama and now is an aspiring actress. 'So I hope my story will make people realise they don’t have to be a size zero or look like Claudia Schiffer, you can be beautiful just being you. 'I’ve been through various forms of therapy to help with my self confidence. 'I entered the beauty pageant one a whim when I saw it on Facebook and it said it was open to all ages and all sizes. 'Modelling is always something I’ve been interested in doing but I’ve never had the confidence to do it. 'But since taking part in the Miss Dream Street competition I’ve entered other beauty pageants because it has given me a real boost. 'My family and friends are really proud of me for conquering my fears. 'I know I can now achieve whatever I want to.'

Write highlights.
Kristy was horribly bullied throughout her childhood for her looks. Began self-harming as a teenager and even attempted suicide aged 14. Entered a pageant on a whim and says it is better than any therapy. Beat 20 others to come second in the regionals of Miss Dream Street. Now auditioning for film and TV roles and plans to enter other pageants.

Problem: By. Lucy Crossley. PUBLISHED:. 10:28 EST, 10 December 2013. |. UPDATED:. 19:47 EST, 10 December 2013. More than 100 orphaned seal pups have been saved by rescue workers after they were swept away from their mothers during the recent floods. The adorable pups, many of them under three weeks old and in need of constant care, were washed up  after a tidal surge hit the east coast. Each pup is expected to need up to five. months’ rehabilitation after being separated from its mother, and so. many of the animals needed looking after that the East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk has now reached full capacity. Orphaned: This tiny seal pup is one of more than 100 rescued by the RSPCA after they were swept away from their mothers during the recent floods. Alone: The orphaned pups were separated from their mothers in the storm surges that hit the east coast last week. Mission: RSPCA workers help to carry some of the stricken seal pups to safety after they were washed up on the East Anglia shoreline. The centre now needs help from the public to care for the animals, as staff are struggling to cope with the numbers. Centre manager Alison Charles said: 'We have never had a seal rescue project on a scale as big as this before. 'If it wasn’t for us, these seal pups would starve to death. But we really need the public’s help because without their donations we simply couldn’t do what we do. 'This couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the seals. Rescue: The pups were taken from the shoreline by RSPCA workers and taken to an animal rescue centre to be cared for. New home: The animals have been looked after at the East Winch Wildlife Centre in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Help needed: With the centre at full capacity staff have struggled to cope with the number of seals, prompting the RSPCA to launch a crisis appeal. 'We are at the height of the grey seal. pupping season, which means most of these poor seals should still be. dependent on their mother’s milk.' Seal colonies are a common sight along the Norfolk coast as they come ashore to breed between November and January. There. had been fears that hundreds of seals would be killed when the highest. tides on record hit the coast last Thursday and Friday. Pups cannot swim or survive without their mother’s milk until they have shed their distinctive white fur. At one breeding ground in Horsey, volunteers counted 440 pups on the beach before the surge and only 177 after it hit. In need of TLC: Pups cannot swim or survive without their mother's milk until they have shed their distinctive white fur. Disaster: If it had not been for rescue workers and staff at the centre, the seal pups would have starved to death. Feeding time: It costs £22 a week to feed each of the young seals. But National Trust rangers at. Blakeney Point, one of the largest colonies with about 1,000 seals and. pups, said they had accounted for the vast majority of the seals.' It would appear that the majority of. seals and pups were able to reach higher ground on the sand dunes and. escape the worst of the surge,' a spokesman said. The RSPCA has launched a crisis appeal to help care for the orphaned seals, with the charity saying it costs £22 a week to feed each pup. The eventual aim is to returning the animals to the wild.
Summarize this article.

Answer:
East Winch Wildlife Centre has reached ful capacity after so many seal pups swept ashore. Some pups are less than three weeks old and in need of constant care. Staff strugg;ing to cope with numbers, prompting RSPCA to launch urgent appeal. To donate to the RSPCA’s appeal, text SEAL01 followed by how much you would like to donate to 70070.