A TEENAGE poet hopes her debut collection will inspire others going through dark times.

Carys Maloney, aged 17, has penned Dusk before Dawn - a book of 200 poems.

And while Carys, of St Peter's, Worcester, primarily writes for herself, she hopes it may help others.

She said: "The poems are about making something good out of darker times.

"It's something I wanted to do for myself but if it helps others, that's a bonus."

Carys has already built up a fanbase on her Instagram poetry page with more than 6,000 followers after starting to write poetry about two years ago.

She said: "It's a way of processing feelings and expressing myself.

"The content of the book took me about a year to write."

Poems include works such as "Here and Now", "Harmony" and "Stay Gone".

She has also avoided reading other poets' work because she did not want to be subconsciously affected by their style.

Her mother Nicki said: "I was surprised by the number of poems and their depth.

"This is just a beautiful collection, so powerfully expressed." Meanwhile, her father Mark was impressed when he saw her work.

He said: "When I saw the poems I was amazed at the quality and content and thought they were good enough to get published.

"I'm immensely proud and think she is very gifted."

Carys is currently studying for her A Levels but is not resting on her laurels.

She is already planning another book.

Carys is on Instagram at carys_maloney

The book is available on Amazon. Search for Carys Maloney.