'I'm frightened' - Online trolls make fake "topless" pictures of Miss Blackpool beauty queen

Tabitha Bennett, 20, says she was left in tears after discovering web scammers had set up fake profiles in her name after stealing her photos on Instagram. One image which makes her appear topless was captioned "sexy fun by me" and includes a phone number to make it look like a sex line.

But callers who dial the number are taken through to a venue where Tabitha was hosting a charity dinner as part of the Miss England competition. Another picture next to her on the same profile called "sexy_queens_rule" of a scantily-clad woman dressed in lingerie reads: "I love wearing stockings" 

The profile impersonating her has also been used to send abusive messages to other beauty queens as well as the Miss England organiser Angie Beasley. Tabitha has now slammed Instagram for refusing to take down the fake account saying it doesn't breach their community standards.

“I’m frightened”

Cheshire Police confirmed they had launched an investigation and no arrests had yet been made. But fashion student Tabitha, of Knutsford, Cheshire, says she's also been left disappointed by the force's lack of action.

She said: "I first had a message from another Miss England competitor sending me a fake profile which had been set up in my name back in July. We complained to Instagram then but they said it didn't breach their community guidelines. 

"They were sending abuse to Miss England organiser Angie as well as another previous Miss GB contestant. The first fake account then disappeared but another one cropped up again around September.

"This one was worse - it had a picture of me in a dress, which was cropped to make it look like I had no clothes on. It had the caption 'sexy fun by me' with a phone number like it was some sort of seedy sex line.

"And to make matters worse the phone number was for a venue where I was hosting a charity dinner to raise money for the Miss England beauty with a purpose. Then there was a photo, which isn't actually me, of a woman posing suggestively in stockings saying "I love wearing stockings".

"Yet even this was still not enough for Instagram to take action. The police have agreed its harassment, but they won't do anything more unless threats are made. So until things get even worse for me. It's like with the Myleene Klass case - they only act when it gets more severe but in the meantime I'm frightened.

“How far do they need to go before they act? Do I know this person or is a complete stranger? And why are they targeting me? Its made me think about quitting Miss England, why would I go through all this hassle just be trolled. But then they have won they haven't they - so I'm determined to go on and compete.

“But there's been a lot of tears and it has scared me. When the police ask 'do you walk to uni alone' you start to panic that somebody is after you. I'd like to see Instagram and the police do a lot more - but nobody seems to want to help".

First mother and daughter duo to both reach the Miss England finals

Tabitha is in the running to be the crowned the next Miss England and will appear at the final in Wolverhampton next month. Amazingly, she has reached the final 40 years after her glamorous mum Vicky, 60, did the same.

Tabitha was crowned Miss Lancashire earlier this year while Vicky, 60, won the same accolade back in 1986. The pair are the first mother and daughter duo to both reach the Miss England finals in the competition's 97 year history.

While Vicky made the top 15 almost four decades ago, Tabitha is hoping to go one better to take the crown and the chance to become the next Miss World. She added: "My mum had always encouraged me to enter pageants and one day I just thought why not.

"Miss England is the ultimate goal for everyone. It’s the most exciting thing as you could become Miss World. I've made so many amazing friends already and it's really good fun. I don't want what has happened to put a dampener on things. I'm just going to go out there and try to enjoy it."

A worrying situation

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we investigating reports of online harassment. Enquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time."

Miss England organiser Angie added: "I was very sorry to hear that Tabitha has been targeted. I’ve spoken to her mum, Vicky, a few weeks ago and advised her to contact the police . I told Vicky we had received horrible messages about Tabitha which I knew were untrue. It’s a worrying situation — the online world can be dangerous.

"I sincerely hope those responsible are caught and named and shamed for their actions. Surely social media giants could help and trace the IP address if they really wanted to help find those responsible. "