JUDGES had a hard time deciding who should win the 2016 Totally Talented competition which was held at Lydney Town Hall on Saturday night (November 19).

The competition is open to singers and musicians aged between 11 and 19 in the Forest and Wye Valley and is split into junior and senior sections.

The winner of the junior section was Gracie Fellows of Coalway who impressed the judges with her versions of Sweet Child of Mine by Guns ‘n’ Roses and With You from the musical Ghost.

Ellen Coomb, of Trellech near Monmouth, sang Do I Wanna Know by the Arctic Monkeys, James Bay’s Incomplete and one of her own compositions, Missing Me.

Both winners are students at Monmouth Comprehensive and won eight hours in the studio of sponsor Auraphonic and £100.

The judges were local singers Ellie Higgs and Lucy Jarrett, and Tom Browning of Auraphonic.

The other competitors were: Zoe Aston-Wright, Milliana Cottrell, Francesca D’Amato, Millie Elsmore, Olivia Morgan and Leina Reyneke.

Judge Ellie said: “I have been judging (Totally Talented) since the start and this was the best. It was a really tough decision.”

Tom added: “It just shows how much talent there is in this small area and its been an absolute privilege to witness.”

There were also performances by last year’s winners Betty Hughes and Tyler Evans who were each presented with a bouquet by Caroline Foligno who did much of the organisation for the competition.

The compére for the evening was Lydney musician Tom Atkinson.