A young entrepreneur from Sidmouth is hoping to win a place at a prestigious food show by using social media.

Lauren Clapp, founder of Cookie Kingdom, is competing in the Big Food Show ‘fledgling’ competition against four other businesses.

The winner with the most Facebook ‘likes’ will have a free stand at the three-day event from October 24 - 26.

The 20-year-old said: “It would be a big thing for me if it could happen - you need a lot of money to do stuff like this. It would help my business as people can try my products. It’s hard to get yourself out there to start with.”

The former Sidmouth College pupil launched her business a year ago after praise from her friends, family and colleagues,

“I enjoyed baking at school, then I would make cakes and bring them into work. So my friends, family and colleagues said I should start my own business.”

She takes orders off her Facebook page and has her own website. Lauren currently runs her business alongside her job as a letting agent in Exeter.

She added: “I would love to be able to get myself out there and to be able to open my own shop.”

The fledgling competition was created to allow businesses that are three years old or less to have a stand at the show at Westpoint.

High profile names including the Hairy Bikers and John Torrode will be feature across the weekend as well as taster sessions and cookery classes.

Local businesses will also be showcasing their top products across the three days.

On Wednesday, the show announced that Masterchef series 10 winner Ping Coombes will be cooking on the main stage at noon and 3pm on the Friday afternoon.

The competition is running across the week on Facebook and finishes today (Friday).

Lauren hopes that as many people as possible can visit the Big Food Show’s page and ‘like’ the Cookie Kingdom entry.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/thebigfoodshow to vote online in the fledgling competition.