THREE budding fashion designers from Arran High School have won a prestigious national competition after creating a glamorous ball-gown made entirely of caramel wafer wrappers.

Megan Ingham, Gabrielle Allison and Katie Morrison, who are all 17, showed they are not a load of rubbish by triumphing in the semi-final of the Junk Kouture Scotland event.

And now the young ladies are hoping their frock – labelled Sweet Dreams – will lift the prize of 2,500 Euros when the champions are revealed in Glasgow on Friday, February 5.

Megan, of Lamlash, said: “It was the school’s former hairdressing teacher Cil Paul who urged us to get involved.

“We came up with the chocolate biscuit idea and luckily she knows someone connected with Tunnock’s

at Uddingston.

“The firm very kindly sent us several hundred wrappers, though I think our families were not too happy that the wafers were not included!”

Junk Kouture has established itself as the premier recycled fashion competition for teenagers throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, and in 2015 extended its activities to Scotland.

The aim is to find the best example of wearable art, thought up by pupils at the country’s secondary schools and created from everyday materials that would normally end up in the bin.

The Arran girls, who are all in sixth year, got to work on their design before Megan spent three weeks putting the final garment all together.

They will be among 80 young designers from across Scotland to showcase their unique dress at the Junk Kouture Scotland grand final at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.

A panel of experts, led by ultimate judge Louis Walsh, will rate the designs and crown this year’s winner.

Megan, along with Gabrielle, of Lamlash, and Arran High School Head Girl Katie, of Corrie, are keeping their

fingers crossed for calm weather towards the end of next week.

Megan said: “Cil also reached the final a year ago with a different group of pupils, but it all ended in disappointment when they couldn’t get to Glasgow on the big day for the judging as the ferry was stuck in Brodick because of rough seas.”

She added: “It has been great fun. I hadn’t previously thought about a career in fashion.

“But now when I leave school this summer I might think seriously about a business degree with a view to working in the clothes design sector.”