Mum and daughter 'on cloud nine' after making history in Blackpool 40 years apart

A mother and daughter have made history by winning the same beauty pageant - with a gap of 40 years.

Back in 1984, Vicky Bennett, then aged 19, was crowned Miss Blackpool. Fast forward to today, and her daughter Tabitha, now 20, has clinched the same title.

The duo from Knutsford are the first mother-daughter pair to win the Miss Blackpool title in its seven-decade history, reports the Mirror. An overjoyed Vicky, currently 59, expressed: "I can't tell you how proud I am. Tabitha really rocked it. A lot of the girls get pageant training, but she only had me. She was just so brilliant.

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"It was really exciting, we had an absolute ball. It was the best night, we were on cloud nine. Win or lose in another competition, it wouldn't have mattered, but because there was so much on it, I wanted her to win the 70th anniversary. It was unbelievable she could win it on the special occasion, when I won it on the 30th."

Fashion student Tabitha, who bagged the title the day after her birthday, has been part of the pageantry world for roughly six months.

Despite her short stint, she's already won the Miss Cheshire title and was voted Miss Public Choice in the Miss Great Britain competition. Vicky added: "Tabitha didn't really show any signs of doing this, but slowly she's come round to it. Within six months she's won two major titles and got the public vote in Miss Great Britain, which is just fantastic."

"She's really making waves and I've watched her grow into it. From doing it the first time and muddling through, to now, when she came out on stage this time, even I was saying 'oh my God, who are you? ' I'm so proud of her."

The Miss Blackpool