A TRIO of Writtle College students finished second in a regional Natural England competition.

Katy Corrigan, from Ingatestone, Victoria Parrish, from Epping and Hannah Hensley, from Wickford came within one point of winning the South East Inter College competition on catchment sensitive farming.

In the contest, the group who are all 17-years-old visited a 245 hectre farm in Kent and analyse the venue's environmental impact caused by it's livestock and crops before discussing how improvements could be made.

Rebecca Harris, lecturer in agriculture at the college, said: “The girls were outstanding.

"This was a challenging task as it meant first analysing a farm’s practices and then suggesting improvements to make it more environmentally friendly."