Inspiring: Meet the Pride of Britain 2012 - our unsung heroes

From the uplifting Diamond Jubilee celebrations to the record-breaking Olympics and Paralympics, 2012 has been a year to make the entire country proud.

And the Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards, sponsored by Lidl, show that we have even more to celebrate than the Queen and our sensational summer of sport.

Our winners, revealed in this special pullout, come from all walks of life, from every part of the country, and range in age from seven to 86. But they share a spirit that embodies all that is best about our nation.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who is attending tonight's glittering ceremony, said: "2012 has been an incredible year for Britain.

"From the Diamond Jubilee to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have taken pride in a togetherness and British spirit that has showed the world who we really are.

"But you don't have to host an Olympics to find that side of Britain.

"Every day, in communities across the length and breadth of our land, men and women, young and old are showing extra- ordinary courage and character to achieve things that would leave even our greatest Olympians looking on in awe.

"Perhaps most significant of all, the people we are recognising tonight don't regard themselves as heroes. They will tell you they were 'just doing their job' or 'doing the right thing'. They don't trumpet their courage or kindness. Instead they just get on with changing lives and making a difference in a very quiet and self-effacing way. And that, to me, sums up the very best of British character. That is why the Pride of Britain Awards define our country. They demonstrate the decency of the British people. And they give true heroes the recognition they so rightly deserve."

Tonight we will celebrate our winners' achievements at London's Grosvenor house.

Prince Charles and Mr Cameron will be joined by more than 100 of our biggest and best-loved stars, including Olympians and figures from film, music, television, sport and politics.

It will be screened tomorrow at 8pm on ITV1. Our winners include chil- dren facing daunting adversity, inspirational adults, members of our military and emergency services who went beyond the call of duty and tireless fundraisers.

The Prince of Wales, who presents his Prince's Trust Young Achiever award once again this year, said: "The Pride of Britain Awards remind us of the compassion, decency and courage which still exists in every corner of the land.

"'It is a wonderful way to celebrate those who make us proud to be British."

The winners for Pride of Britain 2012 were selected from tens of thousands of nominations sent in by Daily Mirror readers, ITV viewers and customers of our sponsors, supermarket chain Lidl.

In our most ambitious quest yet for nominations, we embarked on a 900-mile bus tour of the nation, allowing people to deliver their nominations in person.

A team of researchers also sifted through thousands of stories and contacted charities and the emergency services to add to the shortlist. Winners were then chosen by a judging panel which met at the Metropolitan Hotel in London.

Here we are are honoured to reveal the Pride of Britain 2012...

TEENAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD - Jack Carroll

CEREBRAL palsy sufferer Jack Carroll refuses to let his ­condition hold him back. Instead he uses stand-up comedy to laugh in the face of it, inspiring thousands of other disabled children.

The hilarious schoolboy, who needs a wheelchair to get around because his condition causes difficulty with movement, posture and coordination, says he hopes his routine will challenge people’s perception of disabilities, and improve social ­integration.

He performed his first gig at his parents’ wedding anniversary in 2010 and became an internet sensation when his uncle uploaded footage on YouTube. He was then noticed by BBC1’s The One Show, and comedian Jason Manford, who asked him to do a ten-minute opening set at his show in Bradford in November 2010, in front of 2,500 people.

Jack, 14, from Halifax, West Yorks, says: “I’m using positive aspects of my disability, and hoping other people can see me and realise they can do the same in their own way too. If I can laugh at myself and make people laugh, maybe they will not be scared to talk about disability.” Mum Sue says: “I’m so proud of him.”

LIDL YOUNG FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR - Jack Henderson

ARMED with paper, colouring pencils and a big dose of cheeky charm, Jack has raised almost £30,000 for the hospital that looked after his little brother Noah, after coming up with a unique fundraising scheme when he was just six.

Energetic Jack had the idea of drawing pictures in return for a donation to the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh, which was treating Noah, three, for bronchiolitis.

After selling his first picture for 20p, the seven-year-old has become an internet drawing." sensation, secured a book deal, and designed charity t-shirts...all for the cause. "Because he'd been to the hospital with Noah quite a bit, Jack had seen other children were not always as lucky as him and he really wanted to do something to help them," says dad Ed. But requests for Jack's pictures, that range from penguins eating ice cream to "Freddie Mercury Live at Wembley in '86", came flooding in from all over the world when his website www.jackdrawsanything.

And within just 24 hours, his original target of £100 was more than doubled.

The enthusiastic schoolboy, from Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland, said: "I'm doing this for the hospital because they look after Noah.

"He can't breathe well sometimes every time and every time he goes in I think he's going to die, which makes me cry. I love drawing and hope people like the funny pictures, so I'm really happy to have made lots of money to help people by drawing.

OUTSTANDING BRAVERY - Corporal Carl Taylor

CORPORAL Carl Taylor put his life on the line twice by running across open ground in a hail of bullets to save the lives of three children in Afghanistan during an intense firefight with Taliban insurgents.

Carl, who serves with the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, was a section commander in Helmand Province in March 2011 when his patrol came under attack.

The soldiers took cover in a compound where they found two women terrified for the safety of three boys caught behind a small wall 80ft away. Carl, 26, from Birmingham, says: “I just had to rescue them There was a chance of them getting caught in the crossfire. All I could think to myself as I ran was, ‘Be fast’. When I reached the boys, they were cowering behind the wall, curled up in a ball. I picked up the child that was closest to me, then raced back as fast as I could.”

Cpl Taylor, whose girlfriend Becky Gallimore was pregnant with son Olly at the time, then made the dash a second time to grab the other boys, accompanied by Cpt James Cook. With a child each under their arms, they raced back to the main compound, where they reunited the children with their distraught mothers.

Carl added: “I like to think that most people in that situation would have done the same.”

PRINCE'S TRUST YOUNG ACHIEVER - Jay Kamiraz

SLEEPING next to overflowing bins behind an inner city hostel, Jay Kamiraz thought his life was over, at just 17.

The teenager was homeless after struggling to come to terms with the effects of a savage unprovoked attack by seven men.

After a month in hospital, Jay was afraid he would be targeted again, so he had left his family home in East London for the anonymity of the streets. It was there he heard about a housing group that helped him into a hostel, and a year later he moved into his own flat. In 2004, after the devastating Boxing Day tsunami, Jay decided to help survivors by forming a choir for a charity concert. He says: “We raised thousands of pounds and were asked to play at weddings afterwards.” He then contacted The Prince’s Trust, who helped him launch JK Creative Arts Management Ltd. And in 2009, he decided to give something back to the community, and set up his “Sing to Smile” programme. Jay, 33, says: “Life on the streets wasn’t easy. I’d really hit rock bottom.”

SPECIAL RECOGNITION - Katie Piper

SCARRED for life in a horrific acid attack organised by her violent ex, Katie Piper battled back to inspire millions of young women.

The 29-year-old launched her Katie Piper Foundation in 2009 to raise awareness of the plight of victims of burns and other disfigurement injuries. The charity campaigns for specialist treatment to be more widely available to patients in Britain and also offers workshops with top make-up artists.

In the 2008 attack in North London, Katie suffered third-degree burns, losing most of her nose, her eyelids and half her left ear.

This February, a C4 film called Katie: The Science of Seeing Again followed her as she prepared for stem cell surgery to restore her sight – her 110th operation in four years.And, following the success of her autobiography Beautiful, she released a self-help book called Things Get Better. Katie is now developing a prog- ramme to bring burns survivors together to support each other. She says: “All I want to do is help as many people as possible.”

SPECIAL RECOGNITION - Natalie Aggiano

AFTER her mother was murdered, Natalia Aggiano chose to give one of her own kidneys to save a stranger’s life, in an astonishing legacy of love.

Natalia was 19 when her paranoid schizophrenic father stabbed mum Elva to death. She vowed to do something positive in her mother’s memory. So when Natalia, now 34, heard about altruistic donation, where you can give an organ to a complete stranger, she knew it would be the perfect tribute.

“I remembered Mum giving me my first donor card when I was 12,” she says. “She wasn’t able to donate her organs because of how she died, and I know she would have been devastated.” Early last year, after tests to ensure she was physically and mentally fit, Natalia was told she was a match for a patient in need of a transplant and went into Hammersmith Hospital in London.

After the op she heard about kidney donation charity, Give A Kidney – One’s Enough. And reading about Chris Boustead, who had received a transplant, she ­realised he was the man she had saved. She found his email address, and sent him a message. He replied. And after months of texts, emails and phone calls, they met up for lunch and have now formed a warm friendship.

Chris, 42, says: “She told me I could say, ‘Thank you’, once, but never again. I’m amazed at what Natalia did.”

CHILD OF COURAGE - Ramona Gibbs

BRAVE Ramona had a split second to make a life or death decision as an out of control car hurtled towards her and little sister Trixie.

Without a thought for her own safety, Ramona pushed Trixie out of danger – sustaining serious injuries in the process.

Ramona, then six, was playing with Trixie, three, on scooters outside their house in a Bristol cul de sac in July 2011 when a 94-year-old woman doing a three-point turn in an automatic mistook the accelerator for the brake.

Ramona took the full force of the impact, suffering liver and lung damage, a broken leg and rib, a bruised pelvis, badly damaged knee and severe internal bleeding. She needed five operations, and spent 16 days in hospital. Trixie, now five, escaped with just a scratch to her cheek. In a heart wrenching twist, the extent of Ramona’s heroism only came to light when Trixie later complained in the hospital: “Mum, Ramona pushed me!”

FUNDRAISERS OF THE YEAR - Flo and Jim Essex

MOST couples celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary would mark the occasion with a family party or dinner in a nice restaurant.

Not Flo and Jim Essex. They laid on a bed of nails to raise ­thousands of pounds for a special care baby unit.

And that’s not all. Despite their age, Flo, 82, and Jim, 86, have taken on more than 20 years of hair-raising ­challenges to raise more than £160,000 for charity.

They have raced down hills in shopping trolleys, jumped through burning hoops and abseiled down an eight-storey hospital tower, all in aid of good causes.

Local and national charities, including Yeovil District Hospital, St Margaret’s Hospice, Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, the PDSA, and a donkey sanctuary, have all been helped by the pensioners from Yeovil, Somerset.

Most recently they’ve scaled a 25ft climbing wall, despite Flo’s fear of heights, and competed in triathlons.

And earlier this year they handed over £1,000 they had saved for a coach holiday to help pay for a baby heart monitor at Yeovil Hospital.

When the couple were jointly honoured with MBEs in 2006 Flo was shocked that people thought they would stop fundraising.

“We don’t do it for recognition,” she says. “We do it to make the lives of sick people that bit better.”

OUTSTANDING BRAVERY - Royston Smith and Alistair Neill

CIVILIANS Royston Smith and Alistair Neill put their lives on the line to tackle a killer armed with an automatic rifle on a Royal Navy nuclear sub.

Royston, 48, and Alistair, 55, were visiting HMS Astute in Southampton last April when the horrific events unfolded.

The pair were being shown around the control room by Lt Cmdr Ian Molyneux when sentry Ryan Donovan started firing at shipmates with his SA80 rifle.

Hearing gunshots, Lt Cmdr Molyneux, 36, went to confront the sailor, who shot him dead. Ryan, 23, then entered the control room and shot Lt Cmdr Chris Hodge, 45, in the stomach.

Without a thought for their own safety Southampton City Council leader Royston and chief executive Alistair launched themselves at the gunman, grappling with him and disarming him. Dad-of-one Royston says: “I grabbed the rifle with both hands as Alistair punched and thumped him.”

Alistair adds: “It only hit me what we’d done when I saw my children a few hours later.”

DAYBREAK EMERGENCY SERVICES - Hartlepool RNLI and Coastguard

Trapped in wet sand, with the tide rising around him, teenager Neil Robson was minutes from drowning when Hartlepool RNLI and Coastguard volunteers risked their lives to save him.

The 17-year-old became trapped on Seaton Carew beach after helping his little brother out of the sand.

If it wasn’t for the bravery of the volunteers, he would have drowned during the 75 minute ordeal last October.

The Hartlepool RNLI crew were first on the scene in their Inshore Lifeboat driven by helmswoman Clare Gibbin. Despite the risk of being trapped in the sand themselves, five crew members entered the water to free Neil.

With sand and water up to to their chests, plumber Liam Dunnett and engineering lecturer Mark Barker fought to keep Neil’s head above water.

BT engineer Darren Killick, offshore crane operator Rob Archer and quantity surveyor Matty Adams removed their life jackets to dig the sand away from Neil’s legs.

The Coastguard’s Colin Lodge and Chris Hornsey also arrived. Chris entered the water to be on hand in case anything went wrong, while Colin assisted the team in digging Neil free, despite wearing cotton overalls and no wetsuit.

With just minutes to spare before the water would have covered Neil’s face, the teams asked firefighters who had now arrived at the scene as well, to use their engine’s jets to loosen the sand around Neil.

Neil, who escaped with mild hypothermia, cuts and bruises, says: “The RNLI and Coastguard did an amazing job. I’m very grateful for what they did for me under terrifying circumstances.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION - Jane and Michael Gates

GRIEVING parents Jane and Michael Gates embarked on a crusade to help other families by fulfilling their son Sebastian’s dying wish.

Sebastian was just seven when he was diagnosed with a Wilm’s tumour – a rare form of ­childhood cancer – in 2001 and his parents decided to start their charity, Sebastian’s Action Trust.

Then, 12 days before he died in 2003, Sebastian told Jane and Michael of his dream of a holiday home for ­families of very ill children to spend precious time together. “He was going in for surgery so doctors could administer pain relief in his final days,” recalls former teacher Jane. “In the hospital he spotted a flyer for a summer holiday cottage. He told me, ‘Mummy, that’s no good. We need to build a better one’.”

Despite being desperately ill, Sebastian was interviewed by a local newspaper to appeal for funds. He died on the day the story was published.

Jane, 49, and Michael, 53, a retired police officer, channelled their grief into finishing what their son had started. And the £1.6million purpose-built holiday home, called The Bluebells, opened in North Waltham, Hampshire, in July 2011. Jane says: “I’m proud it all started because of my son, and his caring nature.”

SPECIAL RECOGNITION - Team GB and ParalympicsGB

THEY are the heroes and heroines of a once in a lifetime summer of sport.

On the track, in the pool, on horseback, on bikes, in boats, in racing wheelchairs and on blades, in the boxing ring and on the judo mat, running, jumping, throwing, on the high seas and the manicured courts of Wimbledon, our sportsmen and women took on the world and won, again and again.

It was Britain’s greatest Olympic performance in a century. Athletes Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford gave us Super Saturday, Ellie Simmonds’ battle in the pool with Victoria Arlen was sporting drama at its most intense, Bradley Wiggins reclined in a throne after the cycling time trial, David Weir and Hannah Cockroft shattered preconceptions about what people in wheelchairs can achieve, and Jonnie Peacock beat the Bladerunner. Roared on by the greatest Olympic crowds in history, London 2012 set new standards for the world’s greatest sporting festival, and Team GB and ParalympicsGB delivered performances to match.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR - Alan Watkinson

WITHOUT PE teacher Alan, Britain would never have heard of Mo Farah.

It was during one of his PE classes at Feltham Community School in West London that he first met the young Mo and immediately spotted his talent.

But Alan has also helped thousands of other pupils by offering support and ­guidance. He says: “I don’t take credit for my students’ successes, whether at the Olympics or at the local sports club. I just offer the opportunity for young people to realise their potential and make them understand that sport can open doors, even if they are not very academic.

“With Mo I did what my teachers would have done for me and nurtured his obvious talent.” Mo had left war-torn Somalia at the age of eight, and was struggling to settle in Britain. He was learning English but was frequently in trouble with teachers. Then he was placed in Alan’s PE class…and the path of his life changed forever. Alan, 48, says: “He was always very competitive and wouldn’t back down in a ­challenge, so he got into a few fights.”

But Alan, from Twickenham, encouraged football-mad Mo, then 11, to attend a running club, driving him there after school and on Sunday mornings. He says: “It’s what teachers should do.” Mo says: “Alan became like a father figure to me. Even now I call him ‘Sir’.”

ITV LOCAL HERO - the finalists

VIEWERS of ITV regional news programmes nominated their unsung heroes who give up their time to support vulnerable people in their community, tackle anti-social behaviour or lead local projects.

Finalists include Mark Williams, 38, who runs support groups for fathers with depression, and Kathy Coe, 60, whose 24-hour helpline is a lifeline to domestic violence victims. Providing vital meals to anyone who needs them are selfless Wendy Brading, 68, who runs a lunch club and caring Neil Dowden, 51, who runs a breakfast club.

Ann, 74, and Terry Panks, 76, have opened their own home to over 1,000 homeless men in 32 years, while James Cook, provides a focus to people who are in recovery from substance abuse or mental illness with weekly football sessions. Raising money and awareness are Sheffield’s John Burkhill, 73, who’s raised £160,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support running more than 800 charity races and dementia sufferer Norman McNamara, 55, who has turned Torbay into a “Dementia Friendly” community. Kenny Vennard, 64, has only missed one session of the Boys Brigade in the last 60 years, and Rob Harriman, 46, has tackled anti-social behaviour in his job as a neighbourhood warde.

These inspirational finalists were chosen by panels of judges in their ITV regions. The overall winner, selected by the Pride of Britain judging panel, will be announced at tonight’s ceremony.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - Doreen Lawrence

Doreen Lawrence finally won her 19-year battle for justice for murdered son Stephen this year.

But Doreen, 60, not only won justice for Stephen, she has also campaigned tirelessly to make the legal system fairer for everyone.

And the charitable foundation she set up in Stephen’s memory is providing a lasting legacy by changing thousands of young lives.

Stephen was 18 when he was stabbed to death by a racist gang in 1993, and when murder charges against the suspects were dropped, Doreen resolved to hold the men who killed her son to account. She became a powerful campaigner, forcing a public inquiry into the way police dealt with Stephen’s murder.

Its findings made the Metropolitan Police institute major changes to all murder investigations.

Doreen launched the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust in 1998 to promote equal opportunities for young people.

Doreen says: “We also run a programme to financially support architecture students, as Stephen dreamed of being an architect.”

Meanwhile, in 2000 Doreen won an amendment to the Race Relations Act, meaning authorities must reveal what measures they are taking to treat all people fairly.

Then, thanks to her campaigning, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 scrapped double jeopardy – the legal principle preventing someone being tried twice for the same crime.

In 2008 she opened the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Lewisham which offers free courses in IT, ­creative arts and ­multimedia.

Recalling the January day David Norris and Gary Dobson were finally convicted of murdering Stephen, Doreen said: “The verdict stunned me, I was in shock.”

TEENAGER OF COURAGE - Alice Pyne

TERMINALLY ill Alice Pyne’s emotional blog, along with her motto: “One life…live it!” has touched millions of hearts around the world.

She was diagnosed with ­Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was 12, and has since become a powerful campaigner.

Alice’s blog – a “bucket list” of things she wanted to achieve before she dies – received over a million hits in one day.

The 16-year-old, from Ulverston, Cumbria, now has five million followers around the world, and earlier this year her dreams came true when she finally completed her bucket list, which included whale watching in Vancouver and swimming with sharks.

But Alice says the most ­important thing on her bucket list was to get people to sign up to be a bone marrow donor, and even during her gruelling ­treatment she never stopped campaigning.

After receiving Prime Minister David Cameron’s praise in the House of Commons, she has now managed to get more than 40,000 people in the UK to join the register.

Alice says: “Getting people to sign up was so important to me because I’ve had friends who’ve died because they’ve not been able to find a donor. There’s a match
out there for everyone, and if more people sign up, fewer will die.”

Mum Vicky says: “Alice is a determined young girl, and she just doesn’t want to go, so she remains focused on helping others.”

Together with Vicky and dad Simon, kind-hearted Alice also set up a charity called Alice’s Escapes earlier this year – to provide holidays to the Lake District for families with a ­seriously ill child.

Alice, who is receiving palliative treatment, has also raised £100,000 for different charities with younger sister, Milly, 14.

DON'T MISS PRIDE OF BRITAIN TOMORROW, 8PM, ITV1