Pride of Britain winner revealed - Meridian West

After hundreds of nominations, and some amazing stories, the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain ITV Fundraiser of the Year in the Meridian West region has been revealed.

From a shortlist of four incredible people, our judges were unanimous in their decision.

Olympic gold medal winning hockey player, Alex Danson, joined Fred Dinenage and Sangeeta Bhabra for what they described as one of the toughest decisions they've ever had to make.

But they did make a decision - and Fred went along to surprise our very deserving winner.

Tom Newton will now head to the national Pride of Britain awards at the end of the month to represent the region against finalists from across the country - and where an overall winner will be chosen.

Along with his family, Tom, from Blandford Forum, has raised more than £200,000 for their charity supporting children undergoing cancer treatment in the Wessex area.

In 2009 Tom's little brother, Ted, was diagnosed with a rare form of bonecancer.

In 2010, Ted died, aged 10. Tom had always loved rock music and Ted,​ being in awe of his big brother, obviously shared the love.

In 2011 Tom had an idea to share his love of music with local people in memory of his little​ brother.

He arranged for a small gig to take place in his local​ pub, the Greyhound in Blandford.​ This was the very first Teddy Rocks festival and it raised £400.

By 2015 the festival had raised a staggering £24,000.

But Tom never stopped dreaming and this year he had to move the site festival from its origins - to Stour Meadows in Blandford with a maximum capacity of 2,200 per day attracting acts including The Hoosiers, From The Jam, Don Broco, Gentleman’s Dub Club and The King Blues.

Ted does all his fundraising while holding down five jobs - including as a retained firefighter. He is also a guitarist in the punk band, The Bottom Line.