Tractor Girl Gemma Pulsford spends dual years restoring selected plantation car

A teenage girl has earned the nickname "Tractor Girl" after winning the first prize in a competition to restore vintage agricultural vehicles.

Gemma Pulsford, 17, has spent the last two years painstakingly restoring and repainting every single piece of her beloved 1962 Fordson Dexta classic tractor.

After inheriting her unusual hobby from her grandfather, Miss Pulsford entered the vehicle in the ladies section of the Somerset Vintage and Classic Tractor Show.

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Tractor Girl: Gemma Pulsford won first prize in the ladies section of the Somerset Vintage and Classic Tractor Show

She beat 220 other entrants to claim first prize in the competition,which took place last week in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and is alreadyplanning her next project.

Miss Pulsford, from Coleford, Somerset, today admitted that her school friends "take the mickey out of her" for her hobby.

She said: "It is something that the family has always done and I am following in their footsteps.

"Together we have a collection of 25 vehicles, although not all of them are fully restored.

"This is the first tractor I have restored and I completely restoredit including the engine. It has taken me more than two years to restorethe machine.

"Last year I was first in the post vintage section, third in the ladies and fourth in the under-16s.

"People do think it is a strange hobby for a 17-year-old girl and Ido get the mickey taken and they do call me "Tractor Girl" at school."

Dedicated: The 17-year-old spent the last two years restoring and repainting every single piece of her beloved 1962 Fordson Dexta classic tractor

Miss Pulsford, who passed her driving test in October, inherited herlove of classic tractors from her grandfather David Scurlock, who livesin nearby Bath.

Her father Gary and brother Ashley are also keen restorers - as isher boyfriend David Taylor who is planning an entry for next year"sshow.

Miss Pulsford is in her last year at Somervale School, near Bath, and plans to study graphic design at university.

She is already working on her own entry for next year"s show.