A former Miss Bermuda Islands is warning teenaged girls against participating in beauty pageants organised by Terry Smith and TL Productions.

Renita Minors, 28, told The Royal Gazette she still has not received the $5,000 cash prize money she was promised when she won the Miss Bermuda Islands contest in 1995.

Ms Minors said that she is going public because Mr. Smith is organising another beauty pageant -- Miss Teen Bermuda Islands.

Mr. Smith said the Miss Teen Bermuda Islands was a training ground for the more senior pageant Miss Bermuda Islands.

The contest will be held July 8 at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium, he said.

Some 20 girls will be competing for titles.

"I don't think it's fair for him to promise these girls prizes when he hasn't lived up to his responsibilities for his last pageant,'' she said.

"It's more of a warning to the parents of these teenaged girls not to get involved in his pageant.'' Ex-beauty queen takes aim at pageant organiser Ms Minors had to resort to court action in 1998 to force Mr. Smith to pay up, but despite getting a ruling in her favour, she has yet to see a penny, she said. The primary school teacher said that other prize winners have also had trouble collecting what was due them.

She said she was at a loss as to why Mr. Smith would be planning another pageant knowing that his obligations to her were still outstanding.

The beauty queen who represented Warwick in the 1995 pageant did get to compete for the Miss World title in Sun City, South Africa as a result of winning the Miss Bermuda Islands competition.

The competition has not been free of controversy. Previous winner Kelly Hall in 1993 criticised the event's organisers for not having enough activities for her to take part in.

Mr. Smith said he was hoping to resurrect the Miss Bermuda Islands pageant next year. And he had high hopes of securing the Miss Universe franchise.

But he declined to comment on his dealings with Ms Minors when her allegations were put to him, saying he was consulting a lawyer who would release a statement on his behalf in due course.

Ms Minors told The Royal Gazette she's taking Mr. Smith to court again next month.

Broken promises? Renita Minors (L) says pageant organiser Terry Smith (R) still owes her $5,000 in prize money.