London: Miss England organisers have banned bikinis in the contest.Babes will instead participate in a fun run, since organisers believe the swimwear round gives the beauty pageant a "cattle market" image.
The new idea is the brainchild of reigning Miss England Katrina Hodge, 22, a lance corporal in the British Army.
"I think it’s nerve-racking enough for girls to get up on a stage and speak, let alone appear in a swimsuit," the Daily Star quoted Katrina, as saying.
She added: "It’s good the girls are being given a sports challenge in this year’s competition."
Miss England organiser and former model, Angie Beasley, said: "This is a bid to get away from the traditional image of such events as a cattle market.
"There have always been various rounds in the contest but the only pictures that ever appear in the media are of girls in swimsuits."
She added: "We decided the swimwear section would be scrapped at both local and national levels."
ANI
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