A DOG from near Oswestry has taken first place in a prestigious crossbreed competition run by the Kennel Club.

Willow, the lucky pooch owned by 14-year-old Cerys Hadfield, fought off tough competition to take the top spot in the Prettiest Bitch class at Scruffts, a competition open to all crossbreeds and mixed breed dogs of all shapes and sizes.

The Scruffts heat which took place in July at MediaCityUK in Salford, was the fourth of six to be held this year as part of the Family Pet Show.

More than 100 crossbreeds and their owners descended on MediaCity to take part, but only four made it through to the next stage.

Willow, a sprocker (a cocker and springer spaniel cross), will now go on to compete in the semi-final stages hosted at the world-famous dog show Crufts at the NEC in Birmingham next year – hopefully progressing to the finals, also held at Crufts.

The four classes judged at Scruffts were Most Handsome Crossbreed Dog, Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch, Golden Oldie Crossbreed and the Good Citizen Dog Scheme class, and all dogs competing were judged against a variety of qualities such as good temperament and good health.

Arthurt Renault, marketing manager for James Wellbeloved who sponsor the event, congratulated the semi-finalists and praised those who took part.

He said: "Congratulations to our four brilliant semi-finalists who have all qualified to Crufts next year. It was a fantastic day at the Family Pet Show in Salford and we were impressed by all the entrants who took part.

"James Wellbeloved is very proud to exclusively support Scruffts and we’re looking forward to seeing how our semi-finalists progress."