A farming student from Lakenheath has claimed the highest score ever recorded by a UK competitor at a cattle judging contest in France.

Esme Harrison, 18, was one of two students from Easton and Otley College who travelled to the Paris Agricultural Show to compete in the European Cattle Judging Competition.

More than 100 students from colleges from across Europe took part in the event, with participants given one hour to judge a group of four cows – two dairy and two beef – before their scorecard was compared to a professional Master Judge's scores to see who matched them most closely.

Esme chose to judge Montbeliarde and Charolais breeds, and to her 'complete shock and surprise', her scores were a 98pc match, just one score mark away from 100pc.

It earned her second place overall behind a competitor from Belgium. But the second-year agriculture student said she was 'over the moon' to receive an email after returning home from the show, telling her that her score was the best ever recorded by a UK competitor.

'This is such a great achievement for me and for the UK, as there were 23 other counties there with multiple students competing,' she said.

'It was a very proud moment for me as my grandfather and I had been talking about me going for weeks, as he use to attend the Paris Show and breeds pedigree Charolais himself. Overall it was a very successful trip and I am so proud of what I have achieved.'

Esme also praised the performance of fellow Easton and Otley College student Emily Salisbury, who secured 44th place.