Meet this year's ITV West Country (West's) Pride of Britain Fundraiser of the Year finalists

The four finalists for the West Country (West) region for the Pride of Britain Fundraiser of the Year.

Every year the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards celebrate the nation's unsung heroes - including inspirational fundraisers.

The awards aim to recognise everyday people who work tirelessly to support charities and good causes.

Each year, ITV West Country is lucky enough to send a fundraiser from each of our regions to the star-studded awards ceremony.

They are nominated by people living across the region for their fundraising efforts.

Below you can learn more about the inspirational finalists for ITV News West Country's 2024 Regional Fundraiser of the Year Award.

Lloyd Kembrey

Lloyd Kembrey and his friends have done more than 12 challenges to raise money for the Jessie May charity - raising more than £22,000.

The Jessie May is close to Lloyd and his family's heart as it looked after his twin cousins when they were children.

Francesca and Josephine were born with the life-limiting condition Sanfilippo disease Type A. They were cared for by Jessie May before their deaths in 2006 and 2009.

Lloyd, who is a facilities manager at Bristol University, has bungee jumped dressed as Santa, completed the three peaks challenge, climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest on a rock wall and have also done the London Marathon as well as many others.

Emma Stuart

Every week for the past 12 years, neonatal nurse Emma Stuart has given up one of her days off from her challenging job to run Emma’s Knitting Shop in the reception of the St Michael's Hospital in Bristol.

She's raised £50,000 for Cots for Tots in the process.

"We're really lucky to have Emma as part of our team, she's a very determined lady,” Cots for Tots’ Community Fundraising Manager, Stephanie, said. "It's really important as we have so many things we need to provide each year, including accommodation, music therapy and medical equipment."

Along the way Emma's Knitting Shop has become a staple of St Michael's Hospital and now has an army of knitters making products.

Gary Cook

Gary Cook, from Wiltshire, has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity through metal detecting.

Every year the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally - a huge metal detecting rally - in memory of his father who died from cancer in 2017.

It has grown so much in popularity that tickets sell out in a matter of minutes and people come from across the world to attend the event, which is held at a different location each time, and has been dubbed “the Glastonbury of metal detecting”.

Speaking about his dad, Gary said: “He was my hero, my mentor, and losing him was probably the worst pain I’ve felt in my entire life.”

For three years, Rodney was treated at the Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath. After his death Gary wanted to help. Alongside his day job, he spends all year organising the memorial rally, as well as some smaller events, with help from a few other volunteers.

Up until summer 2024 he had donated £318,000 to charity - with the funds split between the RUH's official charity and the Great Western Hospital charity in Swindon. An additional £100,000 has been raised from this year’s event at the end of August.

Louise Polledri

Louise's son Sam Polledri sadly died in February 2022 having suffered a cardiac arrest on a night out. He was just 24 years old.

There was no public defibrillator nearby. If there was, his chances of survival would have increased from 4% to 74% if used with three to five minutes.

Since her son's death, Louise has set up the Sam Polledri Foundation through the Great Western Air Ambulance. It raises funds to install as many public access defibrillators as possible, in as many places as possible. The money is also used to provide essential CPR training to members of the public.

The charity has already raised over £70,000 and 13 public access defibrillators have been set up with many more pending. They have already saved two lives.