YOUNG volunteer, sailor, gardener and fundraiser Joseph Wigley has coined in more than £2,500 for charity.

He was among those recognised at the 2014 Pride of Somerset Youth Awards.

The 13-year-old from Combwich helped care for his grandfather after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and after his death decided he wanted to thank the staff at Salisbury Hospice for all their work.

Among other things, he took on the challenge of cycling 100 miles from Ilfracombe to Plymouth in five days and followed that up with a marathon 20-hour sail on Durleigh reservoir over three weekends. He also organised with friends and family to collect at Bridgwater Carnival.

His fundraising total now stands at £2,665, £1,770 of which has been donated to Salisbury Hospice.

His dedication saw him work on publicising his efforts to raise funds, contacting friends and relatives and writing press releases.

On top of that, he has found time over the last four years to volunteer as a gardener for the charity Brainwave and as a shopworker for the RNLI outlet in Minehead.

The awards are run by the Rotary Club of Taunton, your Somerset County Gazette, Bridgwater Mercury, Chard and Ilminster News, Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News and local radio station BBC Somerset.

A prize fund came from sponsorship from the Rotary Club, Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Somerset Cricket Museum and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.

Certificates were presented at Somerset College’s conference centre in Taunton, which was provided free by the college.

For a gallery of photos from the presentation night, click on the related links on this page and to watch video footage from the ceremony, which took place on March 7, see below.