THE WINNER of the inaugural Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, founded by Ponteland-based author L J Ross, has been announced.

Pru Heathcote, who lives in Warkworth, scooped up the £2,500 prize as well as free membership to relevant industry associations, with her psychological thriller Don’t Leave.

The contest, which attracted more than 500 entries, is aimed at writers making their crime fiction debut, and was founded by Northumberland best-selling author L J Ross in association with Newcastle Noir Crime Writing Festival.

Organisers ask that North-East writers or people who know the region enter.

Don’t Leave is set in a location inspired by the Old Bathing House on the Northumberland Coast at Howick.

Louise Ross was impressed by Pru’s thriller, which “brought all the strands together” in combining crime and supernatural elements.

“It’s not easy to meld such different concepts in the story,” she said. “It showed a raw natural talent.”

Hertfordshire born Pru worked as a local newspaper reporter and moved to the North-East nearly 40 years ago, writing for teenage and women’s magazines, while raising three children and running adult education courses.

In 2014, Pru was commissioned to write a biography of social campaigner and activist Dorothy Robson.