MUSIC and romance secured a winning spot for a dog groomer in the first creative competition to be held in the UK.

Lorraine Brackley from Canine Care and Co in Leigh has dyed, shaped and pruned her way to a second place spot with her inspired design on her two-year-old poodle Sebastian.

The competition was held in Northampton and was the first solely dedicated to creative grooming.

Lorraine said: “It’s great fun but hard work. I’ve been planning the design for about a year and would have started shaping Sebastian about six months ago.

“I started to dye him a few weeks ago - it is done is stages because it’s quite hard to get a dog to stand still for a long time but Sebastian loves it.”

A keyboard, a red rose and a dancing couple cut and dyed into Sebastian’s fur helped secure the runner-up spot for Lorraine.

“It isn’t for everyone but it is a good way for people to better understand what dog groomers do and although it’s rarely that extreme, we can do a bit of colour on the tips of a dog’s ears or tail,” she said.

“It can help to make dogs less frightening to young children - they tend to be less intimidated by dogs if they are dyed blue.”

Lorraine, who lives on Twist Lane in Leigh, competes in several competitions a year and the next one is in Kent in a few weeks.

“It is a lot of preparation but I will neaten Sebastian up for the next one before growing his hair out ready for the next design,” she said.

“He is a bit faded now but he gets quite a lot of attention when I walk him round Leigh but he acts like a normal dog that likes going to the park and jumping on my couch.”