We were contacted by someone who had inside information about how the winner of Miss England has attracted just nine public votes. Within a few hours we had placed the story - earning the tipster a handsome fee.

Votes fury as Linford niece wins glam title

The Miss England contest was plunged into a voting row last night after it emerged the winner - Linford Christie's niece Rachel - won just NINE public votes.

The 20-year-old heptathlete won the title after a panel of six judges deemed her the best of 15 shortlisted beauty queens.

Yet their decision seemed at odds with the public, who each shelled out £1 to vote for their favourite in a poll. In that vote, compiled by a premium rate phone line on Miss England's official website, Rachel finished only 49th out of the 54 original contestants after securing just her handful of the 10,000 registered votes.

The public's most popular choice was Miss Oxfordshire Zoiey Smale, who secured 2,013 votes. Yet she failed to even make the top three when the panel made their final selection at a central London hotel on Monday night. Lance Cpl Katrina Hodge - the judges' runner-up - came 18th in the public poll with 128.

Last night competition spokesman Dee Carpenter said: "The judges know best as they met and talked to the finalists. The public hadn't met the girls."

But one contestant, who asked not to be named, questioned the "odd" judges' decision. She said: "It seems very odd that the overall winner, chosen by the judges, won so few public votes. "The competition is far more than just a beauty contest, but it looks like the judges were totally out of touch with the public.

"I feel sorry for the members of the public who bothered to vote. Their opinions have been ignored." Ms Smale said: "I felt quite let down as did all the girls that I spoke to because the ranking three didn't win any of the awards that were available for our hard work in the run-up to the finals.

"There were so many things we had to do. Yet none of it matters at the end of the day. The public vote was supposed to be acting as one of the judges' decisions. It was a big deal to me, but on the night it felt like it meant nothing."

Miss England is chosen over a period of weeks leading up to the two-day final.

The judges, who included ex-model Caprice, select from a shortlist of 15 girls. To reach the final, girls must win award categories which include Best Smile, the Fresh Modelesque Award, and England's Got Talent.

The public poll is held over four weeks and the girl with the most votes enters the final as winner of Miss Public Vote. Seven other finalists are selected by contest judges.

Rachel, also on course to appear at the 2012 Olympics, won the Helen E Cosmetics award to reach the final. She told the judges: "I want to be successful in whatever I choose to do in life."

Rachel's dad Russell - the brother of British sprinting legend Linford - was stabbed to death when the beauty was only eight.

Sexy squaddie Katrina, 21, beat thousands of entrants to reach the competition's final stages. The brunette, in the Royal Anglian Regiment, said: "Everybody calls me Combat Barbie. I'm proof you don't have to be butch to join the forces."