Daredevil Marie's wing walking win (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Daredevil Marie's wing walking win

MARIE Duguid is on cloud nine after being selected for a high flying job with the Utterly Butterlys.

The 24 year-old Cirencester sales consultant beat 12 other hopefuls at the wing walking finals at Rendcomb Airfield on Tuesday.

She will spend the summer soaring high on the wing of a 1940s biplane with the Utterly Butterly team.

Sophie Homan, from East Anglia, and Sophie Sharpe, from London, were runners up and will be battling it out for a place alongside Marie.

The Utterly Butterly team launched a nationwide search in January for two new wing walkers to join them for events across the UK and in Europe during the summer.

Marie beat hundreds of hopefuls to represent the South West in the finals.

During the selection day on Tuesday the wing walking candidates had to demonstrate their fitness, common sense and style on the ground and in the air.

Marie, who loves outdoor pursuits, particularly skiing, said: "I heard about the wing walking interviews on the radio and I just fancied doing it for the summer.

"During the finals we went up on the wing and had to do a performance whilst we were up there.

"It was a long day but to find out at the end that I had got the job was fantastic."

Team leader Vic Norman said: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. "Travelling across the UK and Europe on the top wing of a 1940s biplane is a wonderful experience and something that only a handful of daredevils have enjoyed before."