´óÏó´«Ã½

Five-year-old pooch Peggy has beaten fierce competition from across the country to be crowned the UK's ugliest dog.

She is a cross between a Chinese crested breed and a pug - which is sometimes called a pugese.

The competition started late last year and organisers say they were flooded with entries.

Now the hard work is done, Peggy can put her paws up and enjoy her prize - a grooming and photography session.

The organisers say they never thought they would discover a star, but that is exactly what they have found in Peggy.

Parrot Print say most of the entries they received were "simply too cute to be serious contenders" but Peggy stood out from the start.

She was the runt of her litter and the last one to be homed after her brothers and sister, but her owner Holly says she fell in love at first sight.

Holly said: "We loved her the instant we laid eyes on her with her big brown eyes, little tuft of white hair and her tongue lolling out to one side. I just felt sorry for her, sat there with no hair and her tongue out.

"I hope it encourages people to overlook the little oddities of those dogs left on the shelf."

Dogs from elsewhere in the world were entered into the competition, but organisers were searching solely for the ugliest dog in the UK.

But now the team say they may consider dogs living outside the UK, which would mean Peggy would have more competition on her paws.