Pretty Dumb

A teenage girl racked up a £1,175 phone bill – by voting for HERSELF in an online beauty contest. Wannabe model Chelsea Gledhill, 14, sent nearly 2,000 texts in a month, costing 60p each.

Chelsea sent in a snap of herself to the contest for 13-19-year-olds with her parents’ consent. She was invited to a London photoshoot and her pic was put on a website where people could vote for their favourite by text.

She got to the final five in the heat with 1,972 text votes – mainly from herself. Judges then chose two other girls to go on to the grand final while Chelsea was given a consolation prize of £100 of make-up.

Lisa, a cleaner from Halifax, West Yorks, said: “I’m not angry at Chelsea because I understand why she did it. I’m angry at the exploitation. Girls are vulnerable at that age. The contest favours girls with money rather than those who deserve it. It depends how much you can afford to text.”

She and builder husband Jason, 35, had to use savings to pay the bill.

But Miss Teen Queen UK said Chelsea and her mum were told how the voting worked and what it cost. A spokeswoman said: “Chelsea’s mum knew what she was letting her enter.
In the final round the girls are judged by our judges. It is all above board.”