Autistic man from Carmarthenshire a finalist in 2023 Autism Hero Awards' Young Person Category

• ITV News reporter Lewis Rhys Jones visited Samuel Turner following his recent nomination in the Autism Hero Awards

A young autistic man from Carmarthenshire is celebrating another success after being nominated in the Young Person of the Year category for the Autism Hero Awards.

27-year-old Samuel Turner previously won a Pride of Britain Award in 2020 as ITV Wales' Fundraising champion. Now, he's looking forward to finding out whether he'll be an award winner for the second time when the Autism Hero Awards get underway in London on Saturday, 25th of November.

Samuel said: "I got a notification saying they've got me down for the Young Person of the Year category. When I found out I was nominated for that award I was incredibly overwhelmed."

"I got to perform at Autism's Got Talent in 2021. Anna Kennedy is the organiser for both events and she officially nominated me for my personal epic achievements."

Samuel often runs his own "Autistic Baker" stall at the market in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, with money being raised to support the Treetops Charity.

He also enjoys creating short films, and in 2021 wrote his first book "The Autistic Side of Love", which received recognition from the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Speaking about Samuel's latest nomination, his father Barry Turner said: "We feel over the moon, it's such an achievement and he's come on a long way since he was a young lad."

Melanie Clark, Samuel's Personal Assistant added: "Sam's very passionate to get the message about autism out there and de-stigmatise it.

"We're just so thrilled he's been nominated for yet another award."

You can find out more about the Autism Hero Awards right here.

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