Local Hero Nominee: Susan Cogley

Susan Cogley is 53 and a mother of three. She has battled breast cancer three times, and the cancer has again returned. Susan is a founder member of the dragon boat charity Paddlers for Life which is based on Windermere. It has 60 members, all breast cancer survivors. She travels the world raising awareness of exercise and dragon boating to aid breast cancer recovery. There are now Paddlers For Life teams in Wigan, Manchester, Edinburgh and in southern England.

Susan co founded the charity in 2007 after beating breast cancer twice. She beat it again in 2010 but is now having to fight it once more. Her inspirational attitude to life prompted fellow team mate Karen Evans to nominate her. She said:

''she's an amazing person - she's so full of life. After everything that's happened to her she has inspired everyone else around her.''

Despite all this - her nomination for a Pride of Britain award came as a surprise - Susan says she is ''gobsmacked'' to be nominated.