Sarah's pins are a real winner

The 22-year-old Ilkley lass was invited to measure up against long legged international model Michelle Norkett - dubbed Queen of the Pins because of her outside leg measurement of 46 inches.

And in a national newspaper feature last week, Sarah outstripped Michelle by two inches.

But while her friends reckon Sarah should use her 48-inch pins to stride down the catwalk, she insists there are drawbacks to being head and shoulders above other girls in town.

"I've always had problems getting clothes to fit me - sleeves and trousers are always too short and I have to buy men's jeans as women's don't fit, but men's jeans are a lot nicer anyway," said the data input operator of St James Road, Ilkley.

Sarah is six feet two inches tall, has an inside leg measurement of 37 inches, outside leg of 48 inches and wears size 12 clothes.

"People say I should be a model but I don't take them seriously, I'm fine as I am," she said.

"People do make comments when they first meet me, things like 'Did your mum put you in a growbag', 'What's the weather like up there' and 'Don't smoke - it will stunt your growth'. It can be annoying sometimes."

And how do boyfriends react to stepping out with a girl with such long limbs?

"My ex-boyfriend was an inch taller than me at six feet three inches and that was fine. I've had boyfriends who were smaller than me and they seemed to like having a taller girlfriend. But a lot of men find a taller woman intimidating, but that's their problem," she added.

"The only real advantage of being so tall is that I can see better than everyone else at concerts, but even then people behind me keep asking me to move out of their way.

"I was six feet by the time I was 16 and hated being so tall and I used to worry about my height. Now I've got used to it, there are a lot of worse things I could be."

Photo by David Whitworth. (WODW7)

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.