A dedicated Norfolk nurse who runs a cattle herd as a hobby was overjoyed to finally win a championship title after 15 years at the Royal Norfolk Show.

Clare Germany, of Hautbois Charolais, based at Great Hautbois near Coltishall, won the "best of breed title" for one of her British Charolais cattle.

The winning animal is a two-year-old home-bred heifer named Hautbois Star, who is three months pregnant.

And her owner said she was extremely proud to be awarded the champion's sash.

"Basically, I have always wanted to have the sash, but I have never got 'best of breed' before, although I have been showing for 15 years," she said.

"When we found out we had won it was just joy really. We had never done it before and it is something I always wanted to happen.

"Her mum was our first Charolais cow that I had, so it is all very satisfying.

"This is my hobby. I am a nurse and a farmers' wife, but this is my release. It is very stressful being a nurse and caring for these animals is my stress reliever."

The 55-year-old has been nursing for more than 30 years - including the last 19 as a practice nurse at a GP surgery in Coltishall.

And she said there were several nursing skills which have helped equip her to care for her livestock.

"It is a lot more physical caring for one of these than a human," she said.

"I have had to take stitches out, deal with prolapses, help artifically inseminate and scan [for pregnancy]."

She said her champion's star qualities include that "she a typical traditional charolais, she has got the size and the presence - and she has a pretty face".