I was born without a left arm - and now I have a top modelling contract

Not until the second glance do you notice Kelly Knox is a little different from the rest.

Miss Knox, who was born without a left forearm, has won a BBC3 competition to find the UK's best disabled model.

Winner: Kelly Knox was born with no left forearm

Her prize is a contract with a top agency, Take 2 Model Management, and a fashion shoot for Marie Claire magazine, which produced the picture seen here.

Miss Knox, 23, who vowed at seven never to wear a prosthetic arm, claimed she never classified herself as disabled, until she decided to enter Britain's Missing Top Model. 

Young mum: Jackie shows off her daughter Kelly at just 10 days old

And she doesn't intend her differences to influence her career in the fashion industry.
She said: 'In my household we don't use the word disabled. Never have done, never will do.

'I don't feel disabled but society will label me as being disabled.'

Miss Knox lives with her mother Jackie, 61, in Enfield, North London. She beat hundreds of applicants to appear on the BBC show.

Proud of herself: Kelly aged four(left) and all dressed in blue at nine

The disabilities among the eight finalists ranged from profound deafness to brain injury.

The girls were put through six weeks of modelling tests before the winner was chosen last night by a panel of judges.

Through her triumph, Miss Knox knows she could pave the way for others in her situation. 

Rope trick: Kelly Knox was full of adventure, even at the age of seven

Her condition is not genetic, according to doctors, but is just something that happens 'by mistake'.

'It's more likely to be on the left-hand side and it's more common in girls than boys,' she said. 

All smiles: Kelly at 10, loved to be the star attraction

'I've had so many messages from people who have been born like this and parents of children who say I am such an inspiration.

'That makes me think, "That's why I did the competition."' 

She credited her two brothers Colin, 34, and Karl, 37, for enabling her to stand up for herself.

Cover girl: Kelly is featured in this month's Marie Claire magazine

'At school I was never bullied - which I think makes me very lucky as I know a lot of people would have been bullied.

'Some people born this way have a tough time.'

Miss Knox added: 'I know it sounds really strange but the only time I get the hump is when I get a piece of tough meat on my plate and I can't get into it.

Her current job, as a credit controller for a soft furnishings company, is worlds away from modelling.

She said: 'If I could give up credit control for modelling of course I would.

'Having a taste of that life has made me realise just how much I would love to do it.'

Marie O'Riordan, editor of Marie Claire, said: 'To get disability discussed on the sofas throughout the land is no mean feat and using a popular format of a reality show was a clever way of seducing viewers into a more complex world.

'We hope this does pave the way for girls with disabilities to get into modelling in the future.'