TWO young poets from Bromsgrove have made it through to the final of a competition to find the county’s first young poet laureate.

Laura Dedicoat and Jessica Dewdney, both aged 16, are now preparing to take on 13 other finalists in the competition, run by Worcestershire County Council.

The pair will be taking part in the ‘Word Up’ competition’s grand final at the Number 8 Theatre in Pershore, being held on January 28.

Laura and Jessie will perform in front of a live audience and a panel of judges, which includes professional poet Matt Windle.

The competition winner will be tasked with promoting poetry to others throughout the county for the rest of the year, through acting as a poetry champion to encourage and inspire others to enjoy poems, writing poems to celebrate special events in Worcestershire, and by performing at literary events.

Competition organiser Natalie McVey said: “We've received a fantastic range of entries to our Word Up competition, all sorts of styles, themes and topics have been explored.

"This competition has been a great way to encourage young people to explore their local library, get creative, improve their writing and hopefully catch the poetry bug.

"Everything's set for a wonderful final."