An 11-year-old has been named runner up in a national writing competition.

Danielle Nnene, from Chase Side Primary School, in Enfield, fought off tough opposition from children across the country to claim the prize.

Her story called ‘The Story That Was Alive’ was praised by judges who said it was “very fitting to the theme of the competition, was full of imagery, descriptive writing and really captured their imagination.”

Almost 15,000 children from all over the UK entered in an effort to win a trip to Disneyland Paris and £500 worth of books for their school.

Each runner up received a cup and the accolade of being named one of the best young writers in the country.

This year’s task was to write a 500-word story with the theme ‘Strange Events & Peculiar Happenings’.

Judge Jonathan Meres said: “I know you’re probably all expecting me to say something about how incredibly high the standard of entries was and how impressed I’ve been with the quality of the writing. Because that’s the kind of stuff that judges always say. But I’m afraid that’s exactly what I am going to say.

“Well, I’m not afraid to say it. I’ve got to say it. Because it’s absolutely true. The standard of stories really has been exceptionally good, which on the one hand has made for some very entertaining reading for me, but on the other hand has made the task of choosing just one overall winner extremely difficult and frankly, almost impossible.”

The 2015 winner was 12 year old, Alexander Boxall, from Eastbourne who stole the crown with his spine-tingling tale, That’s a Wrap.