Eight community heroes have been celebrated at the 2024 BBC Radio Cornwall's Make a Difference Awards.

The ceremony took place at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth on September 12.

This marks the third consecutive year that BBC Local has received a record number of entries and nominations for the awards.

The awards celebrate ordinary people, and for the first time, animals, who are doing extraordinary things in their communities.

The aim of the awards is to shine a light on the everyday, unsung heroes who go that extra mile for others in their own community.

From the thousands of nominations, a shortlist was drawn up and a winner chosen by a special panel of judges.

This year’s judges included BBC presenter Matt Allright, Doc Martin actor Martin Clunes, comedian Mimi Attenburrow, Cornish and Fiji RFU player Josh Matavesi, hotel inspector Alex Polizzi, and BBC Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawny.

In total, there were eight award categories.

The winners were Sheila Gill from St Austell, who won the Volunteer Award; the Parky Blinders Boxing Project in Newquay, who won the Community Groups Award; Dexter, aged 9, of Illogan, who won the Fundraiser Award; Jasmine, aged 14, from Callington, who won the Carer Award; Hazel House of Foxhole, who won the Great Neighbour Award; Dominic Cullip from Bodmin, who won the Bravery Award; Katie Maggs from Penzance, who won the Green Award; and Jana Merrett-Jones from Bodmin, who won the Animal Award.

Emma Clements, executive audio editor at BBC Cornwall, said: "The celebration gave us a wonderful opportunity to meet, recognise and say thank you to all of those who do so much within their communities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

"There was joy, tears, and inspirational stories during the event which was a very happy occasion.

"Congratulations to everyone."

Chris Burns, controller local audio commissioning, said: "The Make a Difference Awards celebrate the good things that happen within our communities and it’s great to see that every year we see more and more nominations.

"The award ceremonies for me are a humbling experience and I feel privileged that we get to shine a light on these stories and give our listeners a chance to celebrate the unsung heroes where they live.

"A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate someone and a huge congratulations to our winners."

To find out more, visit www.bbc.co.uk/makeadifference.