Move over Lara Croft, we have our own girl power video-game superstar right here in Luton.

Games console whizz Samantha Whale has become one of the first professional female gamers in the UK, after securing a place in the Birmingham Salvo team.

The 21-year-old, who plays under the tag Ricochet, was one of 20 hopefuls picked by the Championship Gaming Series out of hundreds of wannabes desperate to compete at the animation sport.

Championship Gaming Series is based in Los Angeles, California, and is the only worldwide professional video gaming league.

For 10 days, Samantha attended a four-day gaming job interview in Birmingham, where players competed in tournaments to impress two general managers of the London Mint Team and Birmingham Salvo.

And in scooping the much-coveted role of professional gamer, Samantha will be rewarded with a $30,000 gaming contract - the equivalent of about £15,000.

Samantha, of Bramingham, Luton, will now compete against other girls in the game Dead Or Alive 4, a fighting game, on the XBox.

She will now travel to Los Angeles to compete in the world finals against teams from around the world.

It will be filmed by Direct TV and screened for a week just before Christmas on Sky 1.

Pictured below: The 'real' Lara Croft.

The Championship Gaming Series