New Miss Ireland Laura Patterson has already returned to her day job — stacking shelves in her local Tesco.

Derry girl Laura was back working in the supermarket just hours after winning the coveted crown.

“I love my job and I've no intention of leaving it. I think it's good to keep your feet on the ground,” she said.

”I'm working until 11.30pm tonight and already quite a few of the customers have recognised me from the papers.”

Gorgeous Laura revealed her bosses are flexible with her working hours — but they have cautioned her about her security.

“They don't want any photos being taken in the shop for security reasons. They know I'll be taking off for a month to the Miss World in November — but they've told me that's fine. They were more worried about security if I'm working late,” she explained.

The blonde beauty queen also admitted her friends at Tesco were delighted for her.

“They were all thrilled and happy for me,” she said.

“I do everything in the stores, but at the moment I'm going around stacking shelves.”

Laura went to the University of Ulster this week and applied to take a gap year in accountancy and law for her reign as Miss Ireland.

“I need to give complete commitment to my studies and it won't be possible this year, so I've applied for a gap year.”

Laura said she's still getting used to the title she won last weekend.

“I woke up this morning and saw the crown on the desk and I had to say to myself: ‘That's mine’,” she laughed. “It's only starting to sink in.”