Double-amputee Everest climber and RNLI lifeboatman win Pride of Britain awards

The first above-the-knee double-amputee to summit Mount Everest and an RNLI lifeboatman who has rescued hundreds of people are among the winners in this year’s Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards.

A doctor who invented the world’s first insulin pen and a mother who saved a man and 10-year-old boy who had been dragged out to sea have also been honoured.

As have three infected blood scandal campaigners and a schoolboy who raised £150,000 in honour of his late mother.

Winners will be celebrated at an awards dinner at the Grosvenor House, London, co-hosted by dancer Ashley Banjo and broadcaster Carol Vorderman on Monday.

Carol Vorderman arrives for the Pride of Britain Awards in 2023 (Doug Peters/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Doug Peters

Hari Budha Magar served as a Gurkha with the British Army in Afghanistan in 2010 when he lost both of his legs in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast.

In January 2020, he became the first above-the-knee double-amputee to climb the world’s highest mountain and has won special recognition at this year’s Pride of Britain.

Mr Magar, 45, who lives in Canterbury, Kent, said: “When I lost my legs, I thought my life is finished. I really wasted my time, about two years of my time, just not knowing what to do and just getting depressed.

“Whoever is going through that situation right now, or will go through that in the future, I want them to understand that we can do anything. As long as we have a positive attitude and the right mindset, anything is possible.”

RNLI lifeboatman Hewitt Clark has saved 319 people in 423 rescues in 35 years and won the This Morning Emergency Services Award.

Now-retired Mr Clark, who joined RNLI Lerwick, Shetland, as a volunteer in 1965, said: “It’s nice to win, but this Pride of Britain award is not just for me, it’s for everyone who has worked for and volunteered for the RNLI over the years.”

Jacob Newson (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Andrew Matthews

Jacob Newson’s mother passed away when he was seven years old and at the age of 10 he climbed the highest peak in North Africa, Mount Toukbal, to raise money for the Leeds hospice that cared for her before she died.

He raised £150,000 by hiking the Moroccan mountain and completing other physical challenges, which has gone to St Gemma’s Hospice and the RAF Benevolent Fund that supports veterans, servicemen and their families.

The schoolboy has won the Good Morning Britain Young Fundraiser Of The Year award.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Pride of Britain Awards, and Vorderman said: “Since the first Pride of Britain 25 years ago, the most profound part for me has always been meeting our winners.

“We have lots of showbiz glitz and glamour, but then these extraordinary people come up on stage and blow everyone away with the incredible feats they have achieved, and also with their modesty.

“As they don’t like to shout about what they have done, we feel it’s up to us to shine a rightful spotlight on them.

“This year’s winners sum up everything that makes Pride of Britain so unique and special. They are selfless and kind, and hugely courageous, either in facing their own challenges, or helping others overcome theirs.”

Banjo praised winners’ “unique and varied” achievements and that “they always put other people first”.

He said: “They could be going through really tough medical treatment, or have lost someone they love, but their first thought is always to try and help someone.

“That’s what makes them, and these incredible awards, so uplifting. After you meet the winners, you always walk away feeling inspired to try and make a difference in your own life.”

A judging panel selected the winners from a shortlist after tens of thousands of public nominations were received.

The ceremony will be shown on ITV1 at 8pm on October 24.