A BUDDING Bolton writer has beaten hundreds of others in a writing competition to become the “modern day Enid Blyton”.

Local youngster Mariam Shabbir, aged 11, will now see her contemporary “Famous Five” story turned into a set of books and podcasts based on Enid Blyton's mystery-solving youngsters, after television and publishing chiefs launched a hunt for would-be authors.

Mariam, a pupil at St Matthew’s CE School, Kentford Road, was picked as a winner of the nationwide competition “Famous Five: On The Case” by a panel of judges including former S Club 7 member, Jon Lee — who provides the voice of Max in the new animated series of the same name, and children's author Cressida Cowell.

Mariam's entry — a spooky tale called “The Case of the Library Ghost” — was judged the best entry in the nine to 11 age category.

Mariam said: “I loved the original Famous Five books and was really inspired by them when I wrote my story. I can't believe that I have won such a big competition — I am so proud.”

Publishers of the original Famous Five novels, Hodders Children's Books, and the Disney Channel, opened the competition in May to mark the launch of the channel's new animated series “Famous 5: On The Case” and the publication of the new “Famous 5 on the Case” books.