Artistic wizardry by a Malvern Harry Potter fan earned her a place in the final of a national competition.

A colourful drawing by Lauren O'Donoghue, a pupil at The Chase, impressed judges in a Sun newspaper competition to design the best Harry Potter character.

Her pink-haired campaigner for beast rights, Thelena Otenour, was among ten weird and wonderful creations, which were voted for by readers.

"I was amazed," said 12-year-old Lauren. "I was just looking through the paper when I saw it, I couldn't believe it."

She said inspiration for her handiwork "came out of nowhere."

"I don't know how I thought of it really," said Lauren. "Thelena is a lot like myself, she's a beast rights activist and I believe in animal rights. I'd also like to have pink hair."

Lauren, an avid Potter fan, said she is writing a book herself.

"Writing is something I really love doing, the book I'm writing at the moment isn't fantasy, but that's something I'd like to get into."

Lauren's English teacher Bronwen Owens, said: "We're all really proud of her, she's a lovely girl and very talented."

Unfortunately, Lauren was pipped to the post by 14-year-old Sian Brennan, from Northern Ireland, who donated her prize to twin sister Zoe, who will now get to quiz Harry Potter author J K Rowling and get a sneak preview of her long-awaited new book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.