A POET’s work was selected from more than 4,000 entries to be highly commended in a global competition.

Wanstead-based Victoria Richards, a freelance journalist and writer, was one of ten entrants to be highly commended in the Bridport Prize competition for her poem Unthinkably I Leave You.

More than 4,250 poems were judged by Lemn Sissay, who praised the form and style of Ms Richard’s poem.

He said: “The free verse madness of Unthinkably I Leave You set off at a pace and didn’t stop.

“I love the contrast between the person writing the news and then becoming the news.”

The Bridport Prize was established in 1973 and attracts entries from across the world.

Ms Richards has worked for the BBC, The Times and The Independent. She is now working on a novel, a short story collection, poetry, flash fiction and a series of children’s books.