Two talented Oxfordshire writers are getting Britain reading, after their stories were picked from 10,000 entries for a book promoting literacy.

Oxford Mail reporter Fran Bardsley, 25, of Oxford, and Colette Dickinson, 37, from Radley, had their short stories chosen by two celebrity judges - motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson and best-selling author and columnist Jane Moore - for The Sun Book of Short Stories.

The book went on sale last week, a year after both writers entered a competition in The Sun to celebrate the 10th anniversary of World Book Day. Ms Dickinson, a freelance writer and learning mentor, said: "I've been writing for a few years now and I get most of my ideas from life.

"Some are quite gritty. I've always got a notebook in my bag. I got the idea for my story, There's a Queue for the Therapist's Chair, from my reflexology and reiki sessions.

"I never write about real people - they just give me the sparks."

Ms Dickinson has won several awards in the past and writes fiction for magazines such as Women's Weekly.

Miss Bardsley said: "I wrote a story which was about terrorism, called Ball Games. People say they have found it quite dark, like most of my stories. They're not the sort of thing you would think a white, middleclass English girl would write.

"I guess I've got a good imagination and I like to explore things that are interesting to me. In an ideal world, I would like to write novels full time."

The Sun competition aimed to encourage people to read more fiction, by selling the book of popular stories at a low price of £1.99.

Miss Bardsley said: "I think it's really important to raise literacy levels.

"There is a surprising number of people who can't or don't read."