A Biddulph rollercoaster enthusiast who had her Instagram page nominated for a prestigious theme park award has thanked everyone who voted for her after achieving second place.

We reported previously how Rachel Pender, who goes by Roller Coaster Rachel on Instagram, boasts over 21,000 followers on the platform as well as 139,000 on TikTok.

The social media star, who aims to use her platforms to share the magic of her favourite theme parks with the world, was nominated for the 'Instagrammer of the Year' award by Theme Parks UK.

However, competition was tough, as she was also up against nine other Instagrammers in the nominations.

Despite this however she still received plenty of votes - enough for her to achieve an impressive second place finish!

Reacting to the result, Rachel said: "I won second place in the UK Theme Park Awards! To everyone who voted for me, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so so much."

Discussing her nomination she previously said: "I'm feeling so proud to have been recognised amongst some amazingly talented people, from those who take photos professionally and those who even work within the theme park industry, then there's me who finds it totally overwhelming to have been recognised through sharing my little adventures, it just blows me away.

"Theme parks literally make me jump for joy. Just knowing that my posts make people happy means more than you could ever imagine, for me that's what it's all about, sharing happiness, positivity, kindness and respect towards others. Those are the things that mean the most.

"Sharing my little adventures and being able to express myself through social media has helped me to build my confidence, it's something I work on every day. I'm so lucky to have found so much magic in the places that mean the most. Most of my life I've felt like I don't really fit in, but since sharing my hobby here, I've truly found my people and gained the most amazing friendships, and that alone means more than you could ever imagine."

We reported previously how Rachel and her 10-year-old daughter Sappy were featured on the BBC programme The Travel Show as part of its segment on Alton Towers.

The pair took a hair-raising ride on the theme park's Smiler rollercoaster after Sappy waited for years to finally be tall enough to ride it!