FOR years Gemma-Marie Presswell has struggled with health and confidence problems.

She has been hospitalised on more than one occasion and struggled to stay in jobs because of her illnesses.

But now the 40-year-old mum from west Swindon has taken a bold step towards a new life after making it through to the final of a national plus-size beauty pageant.

Former beauty therapy student Gemma-Marie, who is bi-polar and suffers from myalgic encephalopathy, is using the contest to help improve both her health and her outlook.

“Last year was an absolutely horrendous year for all of the family. My dad was taken poorly and had to have a couple of operations, which was worrying. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown,” she said.

“I thought ‘You know what? Life is so short. Things can happen in the blink of an eye. I’ve really got to try and turn my life around’.

“I decided this year was going to be my journey. There have been times when I have thought I don’t deserve to be here and I’ve thought my health was never going to improve.”

So she embarked on a programme to get fitter and raise her self-esteem. “I vowed that this year I would deal with my illnesses as positively as possible and I would try my very best to make healthy choices with my food and strive for a more healthy lifestyle.”

It was after she went shopping for clothes in a plus-size store that she was given a major boost. The assistant knew about the Miss British Beauty Curve competition and suggested she enter. “I said no. I could never do anything like that in a million years,” she told the Advertiser. “My self-esteem is shot to pieces.”

But seed of an idea had been planted and a couple of weeks later, fortified by a couple of drinks and with the backing of her family, Gemma-Marie, who has a son of 20, applied for the competition.

“I didn’t hear anything for a while and I never thought about it really.

“Then I heard that I was going through and I couldn’t believe it. I cried when I heard I was in the final and I couldn’t speak for a while.”

Now she is looking ahead to the event on August 4 in Maidstone where she will be competing at Ms Wiltshire Curve against others in the Ms section of the pageant where contestants will pose in beachwear and evening gowns.

As part of her preparation she is raising money for Brighter Futures and is aiming to help mental health charity Mind.