Little cutie joseph is following in his dad’s footsteps
THE votes have been counted and verified and we can now reveal the winners of the M.E.N.’s Cute Kids 2019 competition.
The winner from each age category will receive £300, while the overall winner will receive an additional £300.
The overall winner of the competition, and winner of the 19 to 35 months category, is Joseph Harrison from Newall Green, Wythenshawe.
Mum Lydia Slatford said she was in ‘absolute shock’ at the news.
“I’m speechless,” she said. “I honestly can’t believe it.” Joseph’s dad Tom said the prize money would be going straight into a bank account for when he’s older, but said his son can definitely expect some treats.
“We’ve just gone shopping and he’s already sneaked a few extra items into the basket,” he added.
“We’re forever thankful. We always thought Joseph was cute, but we thought we were just biased.”
Tom himself was a winner of a baby competition in the 1990s.
“It’s nice to see him follow in my footsteps,” he said.
“It’s like when your favourite football (team) wins – it’s brought a lot of happiness.”
Now three years old, Joseph caught readers’ attention with his cheeky grin.
“That’s just him through and through. He’s definitely cheeky,” proud dad Tom said.
“When Joseph was announced as a top 10 finalist, we showed a copy of him in the paper and he recognised himself, but we didn’t think he’d actually win it,” Lydia added.
The winner in the 0-9 months category is Mason Baird.
Another entrant sporting a cheeky smile, Mason, from Edgeley, Stockport, received top votes in his category.
“It’s fantastic news to hear,” said dad Robert Baird.
“The money will go into his savings account for the future and it will be a brilliant – and embarrassing – story to tell him when he’s older.”
The winner in the 10-18 months category is Olivia Townsend from Bury. Mum Terri-Lee Rossiter said her daughter’s win was ‘fantastic.’
“I have been encouraging all my friends and family to buy the paper to vote for Olivia,” she said.
Terri-Lee said the money will go towards Olivia’s future.
“We’ll be opening up a savings account for her to access when she’s older,” she said.
Charlotte Booth, from Middleton, is the winner of the three to five years category.
Mum Stephanie said Charlotte has already been enjoying the fame of being a Cute Kids finalist.
“When she was announced as a finalist, she was very excited to be in the paper,” she said.
“Now she’s going to be extremely happy that she’s a winner.”
Stephanie said the cash will go into a savings account for Charlotte, but promised that a shopping trip was on the cards.
“We’ll definitely be spending some of the money on some new clothes for her too.”
This year, the Cute Kids competition received thousands of votes and a total of 464 entrants across the four age categories.