February 16, 2022 9.44 am This story is over 24 months old

From catwalk to HGV driver: Former Miss Lincolnshire training for new career

She was crowned Miss Lincoln in 2018

Former Miss Lincolnshire and Miss England finalist Milly Everatt decided to try her hand at something new as she trains to become an HGV driver.

The 22-year-old, who has five sisters and is from the village of Eastoft, was crowned as Miss Lincoln in 2018 before going on to finish sixth in Miss England and modelling in Mauritius.

Millie grew up driving tractors on the family farm and, after reading about driver shortages last year, she applied for an HGV licence. She is juggling modelling work with HGV driving as she prepares for her Class 1 and Class 2 HGV licence and to work for the family business – M & R Everatt.

She told BBC Look North: “To be honest I always said I’d do the test at 18 and then the pandemic happened not long after that, and obviously with the shortages last year I felt like that was my reminder and my push to get back on the horse.

“I’ve obviously driven tractors all my life, but it’s super sized so it’s one thing to get used to the tractor, but then getting used to this is taking some doing, but I have only just started, it is very early days.”

The Road Haulage Association told BBC Look North that only 1% of HGV drivers in the UK are women, with an average age being between 21 and 25.

Millie added: “Women have been in this industry for a long time now, it’s still a surprise to a lot of people. It’s maybe not every little girl’s dream to be a trucker at all, but it’s available to anyone, it’s not limited to a gender.”