In 1964 Joan Taylor became Miss Shropshire. She is seen with the other contestants at Shrewsbury Castle.

The organisers of Miss Shropshire have been left scratching their heads after the number of entries this year plummeted.

Rhona Shafik, organiser of the event, today said the number of girls entering the competition had halved, leaving it short of the 20 girls needed for the final.

Mrs Shafik said this time last year she had more than 80 entries from girls after the prestigious crown, but this year the figure has halved to about 40 applications and most of those are not considered suitable.

Photo auditions to find Miss Shropshire will begin in April where the finalists will be chosen to go before 300 people and a panel of judges.

Miss Shropshire Kerry Price, from Shrewsbury, missed out on the Miss England crown at the final last year. Today Mrs Shafik said: “The number of entries is down, it’s a total surprise to us.

“We had a lot of entries last year without any promotion, but this time we have had promotion and got less applications.

“I thought last year’s winner would have increased the interest, Kerry is the girl next door, but the extraordinary girl next door.

“The competition is wide open for girls to enter.”

Miss Price said: “I’m not sure why entries are down, perhaps people are not aware of it. I was the first Miss Shropshire for 13 years so maybe they do not know it’s still going on.

“But during my year I had lots of fun, it has been a really good experience. You get to represent Shropshire and help lots of charities.”

For more information or to enter visit www.missengland.info or call Mrs Shafik on (01162) 773485.