A TALENTED young pianist is taking the musical world by storm.

Nine-year-old Mary Ann Wootton pipped students twice her age to some of East Lancashire's most prestigious awards.

Now Mary Ann is being hailed as one of a music school's most exciting classical talents for a decade.

The youngster, of Inglewhite Road, Longridge, scooped four prestigious trophies at Blackburn Music Festival - the Mary T Cocker trophy in the under 18s piano solo category, the Mary Greenwood Trophy for the open category, the Rosanne Archibald-Blackshaw Trophy for the most promising competitor in the piano category and the Tattersall Prize for most promising musician overall.

Mary Ann has studied piano and cello with Blackburn School of Music for two years and also performs with the National Children's Orchestra once a month.

Paul Greenhalgh, principal of Blackburn School of Music, said: "She is quite easily the best talent we have seen here in ten years.

"She is outstanding and deserves the accolades she has received." Mary Ann is looking forward to a career as a professional concert pianist.