The Warrington Guardian has crowned its very own 'Mr and Miss Warrington Guardian'.

Editorial staff at the paper decided to launch their own competition to find the genuine home-grown faces of the town after being inundated with letters from readers angry that a girl from Liverpool had won the regional contest Miss Warrington.

To keep an air of equality, staff opened up the contest to both sexes, and it proved to be a popular feature in the paper for several weeks.

Readers were invited to nominate themselves or friends for the competition, and were then able to text and phone in for their favourites.

A shortlist of four men and four women was then drawn up before a judging panel, which included Warrington Guardian editor Nicola Priest, picked the winners.

In the end, the titles went to 18-year-old Stacey Mullins and 20-year-old Lee Payton.

Nicola said: "The standard of the entrants was very high, so it wasn't an easy job.

"It's important to celebrate the young people of the town and it's great to have Stacey and Lee representing the Warrington Guardian."

As well as their titles, Lee and Stacey received £100 each to spend in a local shopping centre and a free makeover before they took part in an photo shoot provided by a Warrington Guardian photographer.

They will also undertake various promotional duties on behalf of the Warrington Guardian over the coming year.