A RETIRED magistrate's writing talents have seen her shortlisted as a finalist in a national competition.

Eileen Elgey, from Rush Park, Bishop Auckland, has always enjoyed writing and joined the Wear Valley Writers group five or six years ago.

She has won prizes for her short stories and has now been shortlisted in a competition run by an Internet site called Paperbackwriters, which seeks to encourage new writers and help them get their work published.

Mrs Elgey, a grandmother of five, said: "I am delighted to have been chosen for the shortlist and it would be wonderful if I actually got a prize."

Mrs Elgey is in the middle of writing her second novel. For the competition, she submitted 20 sample pages and a synopsis of the plot.

If she is successful, Mrs Elgey will have her writing analysed by the Literary Consultancy, which aims to give writers an insight into ways to get their work published.

Her first novel took two years to write. She said: "It is a tremendous lot of hard work and research, but I really enjoy it. I am happy when I am writing.

"My first novel got good reviews, but I just missed out on being published.''