A schoolgirl has beaten off competition from 5,000 other writers from across Britain and abroad to win a competition.

Now Helen Hammond, 14, of Chester-le-Street will have her work published in a book of short stories.

Helen is among 100 youngsters to have their 100-word stories accepted for the book. All proceeds from 2001 - A Space Oddity, will go to charity.

Helen said that she had forgotten about the competition when the letter arrived telling her she was a winner.

She said: "It was something we did for a school project and I remembered it was really hard to cut everything back to just 100 words and have it still make sense. But really I had just about forgotten about it.

"My parents and my English teacher, Mr Anderson, were really pleased, and my dad was buzzing about it."

The book also includes stories by Patrick Moore, the astronomer, and actress Jane Asher, president of the National Autistic Society. Children's author and illustrator Raymond Briggs has written a story and illustrated the cover.

Proceeds from the competition, organised by stationers Staples, go to ChildLine, The Royal School for the Blind, The National Autistic Society, and Winston's Wish.