TILLING the fields comes easy to a farmer s daughter from St Albans who was crowned a ploughing champion. 13-year-old Elly Deacon, who lives on Westwick Hall Farm in Gorhambury, beat nearly 40 other contestants at a plough match organised by the Redbourn

TILLING the fields comes easy to a farmer's daughter from St Albans who was crowned a ploughing champion.

13-year-old Elly Deacon, who lives on Westwick Hall Farm in Gorhambury, beat nearly 40 other contestants at a plough match organised by the Redbourn and District Agricultural Competitions Association.

Elly, a pupil at St Albans Girls School, was named Champion of the Day after two impressive performances in the youth and young farmer competitions, where she was given three hours to perfectly plough a field.

Elly's ploughing, which was marked by a panel of four judges, was considered to be the straightest and smoothest of the day and she was awarded five cups and a shield for her efforts.

One of the match organisers, Will Dickinson, said that Elly shocked everyone with her skills: "It's usually one of the old boys who win so to see a teenage girl clinch the title is quite rare. Elly was very confident throughout the competition and she was even waving to her friends on the hill whilst ploughing. It's a wonder she managed to keep a straight course!"

Elly's father David said that he was very proud of his daughter: "Elly's a star and it was so funny to see her beat all those grown men. Her elder brother Charlie came second, which he wasn't too happy about! Elly's definitely got talent and I think she'll go far.