A mum who won the UK’s Messiest Bedroom competition has defended herself after receiving online abuse from strangers.

Kay Wilkins said the photo of her daughters’ bedroom wasn’t representative of the rest of her Marsden home because she was actually keen on cleaning and tidying – although her kids aren’t.

She said daughters Faith and Grace, aged five and seven, were guilty of not tidying up after themselves – like most kids their age.

UK's Messiest Bedroom competition: the winner - Faith and Grace Wilkins, five and seven, from Marsden.
UK's Messiest Bedroom competition: the winner - Faith and Grace Wilkins, five and seven, from Marsden.

Kay, who won a £400 bed from Time4Sleep, said she had received a “lot of aggro” from people who had accused her of being a poor parent for not tidying her daughters’ bedroom.

Many other people sprang to her defence, saying messy kids’ bedrooms were ten a penny.

“When I took the picture, everything had been pulled out. The children had been pulling things out, toys and clothes.

“Two of the toy storage boxes had broken from being stood on. The bedroom hadn’t been that bad before and it is cleaned every Sunday.

“I am defending myself because the bedroom was like that just one day. By night time I had cleaned it and it was sparkling.

Kay's daughters' bedroom
Kay's daughters' bedroom - as it is now

“I do everything for them as they don’t know how to tidy. People have been saying that I have been neglecting the children and that I should stop watching Jeremy Kyle!”

She added: “Some people have defended me and posted comments sticking up for me. And my friends say they have never met anyone who cleans like me.”

To defend herself Kay posted photos of tidy rooms.

Kay's kitchen

She also posted a comment – which she has now retracted – to say that she had made the girls’ bedroom look even messier before taking the photo and submitting it to the competition.

Kay's tidy living room
Kay's tidy living room

“That’s not true,” she admitted.

“I said that because I thought it would make it better but I can’t win. I took the photo before I read in the Examiner about the competition.”

After making the false statement, Kay emailed Time4Sleep to say her winning photo entry was NOT staged.

UK's Messiest Bedroom competition: Kay Wilkins with her daughters Faith and Grace
UK's Messiest Bedroom competition: Kay Wilkins with her daughters Faith and Grace

The company has emailed back to say it was sorry to hear she had been subject to negative feedback. It said the company was not questioning people’s lifestyles or home life as the competition was just a “bit of fun.”

The company said Kay’s prize of a bed was still valid and would be sent out when it was in stock.