A teenager from Brighton could be the next big thing in modelling after winning a national competition with a picture he took of himself.

Rufus Wilkinson beat thousands of other entrants in Next Model Management’s competition.

The 18-year-old took a ‘selfie’ – a self-portrait on his phone – and uploaded it to the photo sharing social media site Instagram.

To his shock he was picked to be the face of the Sundown festival in Norwich, which is sponsored by the major modelling agency.

And it could be the first step on the road to model stardom for the teen.

Rufus said: “I was on my way back from London when I received the call from Next, which was a shock.

“I was pretty overwhelmed, especially after hearing all the cool things to do at the festival. It feels pretty surreal but I’m really happy.”

Rufus said his entry was a spur of the moment decision after browsing Instagram on his phone.

He added: “Without thinking too much about it I used the competition hashtag on one of my photos just to see if anything would happen.

“There was no response for a little while but after a couple of days Next Models left a comment saying I had been entered into the competition. So it was pretty much by chance that I entered.”

Ross Young, head of new faces at Next Models, said: “Rufus really caught our eye because of his amazing selfie.

“He has a truly unique face and the kind of good looks that you cannot fake with a filter, even on Instagram.”

Rufus’ prize includes VIP tickets to the festival, which takes place from August 30 to September 2, for him and a friend and the chance to sign with one of the world’s biggest model agencies and he has his sights set on making his mark on the model world.

He said: “I have thought about it, yes, and a few people have suggested it to me. I’m really excited about the opportunity to meet with the guys at Next, they have some of the world’s best models.

“Ideally I would love to model for some of the luxury fashion houses like Burberry and I love the high street, too. Topman would be amazing.”

A self-confessed ‘selfie’ fan Rufus gave his advice on how to perfect the art of the phone self-portraits.

He said: “The selfie thing is fun – you can’t take yourself too seriously, though.”