AN aspiring young model needs all the votes she can get as she bids to make it through to the next round of an online modelling competition.

There is just one day left of voting for the 2011 Make Me the Next Model competition – the annual search by clothing giant Next to find the newest name in fashion modelling.

And WGC teen Maria Young is hoping she is among the top 250 hopefuls who will progress to Next’s model bootcamp when voting closes in just under 24 hours time.

From there, the longlist will be whittled down to just 50, who will all appear at the grand final in London on July 30.

Maria’s chances of getting into boot camp are currently looking good – at the moment, she sits at number 153 in the list, having at one point been as high as 91.

And the the 18-year-old, from Sweet Briar, is urging the people of Times Territory to vote for her and make sure she gets through.

“I just have to stay there,” said the former Swallow Dell and Monk’s Walk School student

“I would love to be a model as it leads to great opportunities. If I was to win the Next Model for 2011 it will be a real achievement. I have wanted to be a model since I was little.”

Should Maria make it through to the next round, she would follow in the footsteps of another Times Territory model, Rosie Hart, who finished second in the 2009 competition and appeared in Next’s subsequent advertising campaign.

This year’s competition has also made headlines thanks to the unlikely success of current number one Ronald Bunce from Dublin, whose unusual modelling looks have drawn both sniggers and admiration from the public.

And Maria said: “I don’t know if he knows he’s in it, but good luck to him. If I make it through I’ll get to meet him, so I’ll let you know.”

The two winners – one girl, one boy – will each receive �2,000 shopping spree at Next, the chance to star in a photo-shoot for Next and a special introduction to leading model agency, Storm.

To vote for Maria, click on the link above.