Young People's Heroes revealed

Explorers, doctors and family members top kids' hero nominations in 2017

More than 50,000 children were invited to nominate their hero as part of an autumn campaign run by The Meaningful Chocolate Company in 2017.

Nominations included friends, family members, teachers, celebrities and historical figures. Nominations for Jesus or God also figured highly in the entries.

The ten winning entries were selected based on the explanation given by each child. The winning entries were the philanthropist and campaigner - Katie Piper, the TV naturalist - Steve Backshall, the leading suffragette - Emmeline Pankhurst, a retiring school cleaner, the doctors and nurses at Ipswich hospital, a youth leader,a special needs teacher, a mum and dad, a grandma, and a grandad.

Writing about their heroes Brooke, aged 9, from Hampshire said; "My teacher helps me through stress and problems. She is a lovely lady."

Eliza, aged 11, from Cheshire explained how their youth leader inspired them; "because he preaches about his life and how, when he was young he was very down but with his friends help he met Jesus and Jesus saved his life."

Grace, aged 5, from Suffolk thanked the doctors and nurses at Ipswich hospital who saved her life when she caught sepsis; "mum and dad will always be eternally grateful."

Georgia, aged 10, from Lancashire, celebrated a school cleaner, about to retire; " He does all the washing, cleaning and the mopping because he loves the school and children".

Another winner, Zack, aged 7, from Wiltshire, saw a clear hero in TV naturalist, Steve Backshall; "he inspires me because we both like exploring and helping animals."

Georgina, aged 10, from the West Midlands, described her admiration for Katie Piper; " some nasty people threw acid at her face when she was younger. She had loads of operations and set up a charity to help people with facial burn and trauma scarring. She never gave up."

Winning entries also celebrated family heroes. Caitlin, aged 6, from Surrey, said; "My mummy has always been there for me while my daddy has been away protecting our country and other countries affected by war."

Tilly, aged 7, from West Yorkshire, nominated her grandma; " She looks after me and my brothers and sister all the time. We live with grandma."

Ryan, aged 11, from Lancashire ,paid tribute to his grandad; "He let's me be myself and he plays games with me and he talks with me if I have any worries. He's my best friend who is always there for me."

Amelia, aged 11, from Berkshire, had a historical hero in Emmeline Pankhurst; "After many years of doing what she could do to fight her case, she finally managed to get what she wanted. Still today, women across the country benefit from her actions all those years ago."

The Meaningful Treat Campaign was run by the Meaningful Chocolate Company. Children received a pack which included Fairtrade milk chocolate buttons and an activity sheet asking them to look at the good in the world and think about and nominate their heroes.

David Marshall, CEO of The Meaningful Chocolate Company, said; "We were delighted by the response to the Meaningful Treat Campaign. It is clear that there are lots of heroes out there who inspire children every day. From family members to role models, there were many examples of people who made a meaningful difference to the lives of children."