CHARLOTTE Westray will be competing against the best of the world's Irish dancers.

The ten-year-old, from Woodstone Village, near Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, is one of the region's representatives at the world championships that start in Kilarney, Ireland, on Sunday.

Charlotte booked her place in the under-11 section after winning the North-East qualifier in Low Fell, Gateshead, in November.

The week-long championships, which will be held in the Gleneagles Hotel, will bring the best Irish dancers from as far afield as the US and Australia.

Charlotte, who will be making her debut there, has been dancing since she was five, and is a member of the Hannon Murphy Dancers school, in Newcastle.

Her mother, Frances, said: "I am very proud of her. She has worked very hard and it will be a fabulous experience.

"The hotel has a huge ballroom and certainly Charlotte has never danced anywhere like that before.

"The competitors come from all over the world. You get a lot from America, and there are dancers from Australia, New Zealand, this country and Ireland.''

Other dancers representing the region will be sisters Katrina, Simone and Collette Hesketh, from Belmont, Durham City; Rebecca Woods, of Newcastle; Anna Bainbridge, of Whickham, Gateshead; Anna Lise Hall, of Belmont; Clare Waters, of West Denton, Newcastle; and Jade Eaton, of Longbenton, North Tyneside.