Bullying. Even saying the word leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

But for some people, bullies can wreck lives.

Thankfully, this is one of those stories where the bullied has bitten back. And how.

Danni Anns of Sparsholt, near Wantage, has suffered more than her fair share of heartache.

Still only 23, she has lost three close family members. Yet despite these personal tragedies and being a victim at school of cowardly persecutors, Miss Anns has fought back to turn her life around.

Having lost her sister, her brother and her mother, as well as having had to contend with bullying at school over her weight, Miss Anns has become a genuine, bone fida role model.

As she says: “I want to show people that you can overcome whatever happens in your life.”

Having used food as a way to see herself through some of her darkest times, she became determined to re-write her life after a visit to her doctor. Experiencing excruciating abdominal pain, he suggested she try losing weight.

Today, while currently training to be an accountant, she now also ranks among the final few in the Miss Oxfordshire competition, having lost more than four stone over two years.

Good luck in the competition.