Meet one of the UK's professional mermaids

Jasmine Seales had struggled to work a "normal" full-time job but has finally found her perfect calling - as a professional mermaid.

The 33-year-old, who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome - a group of genetic disorders that affect connective tissues, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and fibromyalgia, said she was "not reliable every day" and had found work could be difficult at times.

Now she freelances at events as well as making the tails and tops that the mythical creatures are known for.

She is competing in the Miss Ocean World UK on 30 November.

Ms Seales, who lives in Newbury, Berkshire, said she had grown up on the Isle of Wight and was "always freediving".

Her enthusiasm for swimming combined with her love of "dressing up and being all sparkly" meant the job ticked every box.

She completed a course that covered, among other things, freediving and how to safely hold your breath.

"A lot of people think it's just putting on the tail and posing as a mermaid but there's a lot more [to it]," she said.

Now fully qualified, she has worked a range of events, from children's birthday parties to Boomtown festival near Winchester, Hampshire.

"We take our really large travelling tanks and we do underwater choreography, meet and greets with the children," she said.

She said some of her mermaid friends worked at aquariums, swimming in the shark and ray tanks, but that was too cold for her.

Ms Seales said the job was "magic" - but it was not all sparkles.

Her mermaid persona is also a way of raising awareness of the state of the world's oceans, and part of the pageant involves giving people a "creative platform" to highlight this.

"You have to make an outfit out of something you would usually throw away, like single-use plastic," she said.

She said her outfit, crocheted out of 1,000 shredded plastic bags, was "ready to go".

Ms Seales said the industry was growing in the UK, and she hoped there would soon be full-time mermaid positions like there are in the US.

But, for now, she was happy doing what she was doing.

Her favourite job, she said, had been an under-the-sea-themed party for people with dementia.

"They absolutely loved it, just massive smiles on their faces," she said. "It was the best time."

She will be competing for Hampshire in the UK pageant at the Lincoln Arts Centre at the University of Lincoln.

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