Miss England quits after arrest

Miss England Rachel Christie has relinquished crown after arrest on suspicion of nightclub assault

Miss England Rachel Christie has relinquished her crown after being arrested on suspicion of a nightclub assault sparked by a row over a TV gladiator.

A statement from Miss England organisers said Miss Christie, 21, wanted to concentrate on clearing her name.

Miss Christie became involved in a dispute with another beauty queen, Miss Manchester, aka Sara Beverley Jones, at a Manchester night-spot earlier this week, when Miss Jones, 24, was allegedly punched in the face after arguing about Tornado, a gladiator who appears in the Sky One series and whose real name is David McIntosh.

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It is believed that Miss Jones, a club promoter and would-be actress, is an ex-girlfriend of Mr McIntosh and Miss Christie is his current partner.

Miss Christie was the first black woman to be crowned Miss England and is also a heptathlete who hopes to win a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.

Mr McIntosh, 22, from Altrincham, Cheshire, is a 15 stone former Royal Marine Commando who cites Rambo as his inspiration and says he would be a gorilla or polar bear if he was an animal.

A statement from Miss England organisers said: "Due to the media attention following the allegations against her, Rachel Christie has now decided to withdraw from the Miss World competition and relinquish her Miss England crown.

"Rachel will concentrate on clearing her name and focus on training for the 2012 Olympics until this case is resolved. Rachel is very upset about the matter and the Miss England organiser Angie Beasley and Miss World Chairman Julia Morley will support Rachel and are behind Rachel with her Olympic training."

A further statement from Miss England organisers about how they plan to proceed is expected soon.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have previously confirmed they were called to the Mansion nightclub off Deansgate shortly before 1am on Monday. A GMP spokesman said: "It is believed that, earlier that night, a 24-year-old woman got into an altercation with another woman in the club and was hit in the face several times. The victim was taken to Hope Hospital where she received treatment for superficial facial injuries. She has now been discharged."