HUDDERSFIELD University student Helen Coe has won a prize to treasure.

She beat 33,000 other students to win a rent-free house for a year.

A frantic campaign to get people to vote for her put her at the top of an online poll run by Virgin Mobile.

Delighted Helen, 20, said: "I can't believe I have won.

"I am now the most popular person at the university and I am deciding which three mates will come and live with me for a year."

Helen is in the second year of a fashion course and is living in the Snow Island accommodation.

She plans to go travelling in the summer with the money she will save by not having to pay rent.

Winning the prize will also help her pay off student debts, she added.

Helen won the competition after collecting more than 8,500 votes from her fellow students.

She won after running a campaign on her campus and in Huddersfield town centre.

Helen spent a week canvassing for votes and handed out free sweets.

Virgin Mobile's Great Rent Escape competition has been running for four years and this year saw a record-breaking amount of entries and votes.

A total of 129,000 votes were collected in the two-week voting period.

James Kydd, brand director at Virgin Mobile, said: "Helen did really well to beat off competition from over 30,000 other house- hungry students.

"Finding money for rent is one of the biggest headaches when you're a student, so winning a rent-free house for a year is a much sought- after prize."