Miss England bows out after nightclub brawl

Miss England has handed back her crown after she was accused of punching another beauty queen in a bar brawl. Rachel Christie (above left), who was the first black woman ever to be crowned Miss England, reportedly got into a fight in a Manchester nightclub on Monday with the current Miss Manchester, Sara Beverly Jones. The cause of the fight was said to be a provocative text message sent by Christie's boyfriend, David McIntosh, to Jones, who was once his girlfriend.
 
The alleged attack is reported to have happened during a porn-themed night at the Mansion club in the early hours of Monday morning. Jones apparently showed Christie the message from McIntosh, a 23-year-old former Royal Marine who stars as Tornado in the Sky One series Gladiators (above right).
 
Christie, 21, who was wearing an angel costume, then allegedly punched Jones, dressed as a cavegirl, in the face. Christie was later arrested on suspicion of assault and has been bailed until January. Jones, 24, was taken to Manchester's Hope hospital and treated for minor injuries and discharged.
 
Rachel Christie, the niece of former Olympic sprinter Linford, is also a heptathlete who hopes to compete in the 2012 Olympics. Her spokesman said that she now plans to focus on her Olympic training after being withdrawn from next month's Miss World contest in South Africa.
 
A statement on the Miss England website said that Christie had decided to relinquish her crown "due to the media attention following the allegations against her". It added: "Rachel will concentrate on clearing her name. [She] is very upset about the matter." ·