FORMER Miss York contestant Melissa Chapman was dressed to impress when she hit the streets to encourage local beauties to take part in this year's competition.

She donned the striking evening gown she wore at last year's final and launched her own recruitment drive in the city centre yesterday.

Melissa, of Heworth, York, distributed posters and handed out entry forms to potential entrants in a bid to encourage more people to enter from within a 50-mile radius of York, and stop the competition being opened up to women from across the country.

She decided to take direct action after reading in The Press how contest organiser Vivienne Lee might need to throw it open, because of a lack of local entries.

Melissa, 19, said: "It went really well. Quite a lot of people were interested in what I was doing because I was absolutely freezing in my dress in the middle of town.

"But hopefully it was all be worth it because a lot of people said they were interested and we should have enough people now to keep it local."

Visit www.eventsconnect.co.uk for details of how to enter.