A BUDDING writer has been recognised as one of the country’s best young letter writers.

Abbie Longley, who attends Little Heath Primary School, came runner-up in the East of England region of the Royal Mail’s Young Letter Writer competition.

The contest, which aims to encourage creative writing, saw 10-year-old Abbie honoured in the 10-11-year-old category.

She was awarded a �20 book token, a framed Young Letter Writer certificate and a set of stamps.

The theme of the competition was children’s favourite books – a subject celebrated by Royal Mail last October through a set of stamps featuring A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh – and Abbie’s letter was inspired by Jill Murphy’s book The Worst Witch.

Competition judge Heulyn Davies, Royal Mail’s senior external relations manager for England, said: “Abbie wrote an amusing letter about her adventures as a trainee witch with her beloved cat.

“The well-written, flowing letter just made you want to read on.

“Entries had to follow the basic letter format, but like Pooh said himself, we know sometimes ‘spelling is wobbly’, so we didn’t expect letters to be perfect and of course we took children’s ages into consideration.”