A GROUP of Skipton youngsters enjoyed a night in the limelight after being honoured at the 9th annual Yorkshire Children of Courage Awards, in St James' Place, in Leeds.

The awards ceremony is the culmination of a year of planning and is dedicated to celebrating the achievements of courageous and determined youngsters, as well as raising money for the St James' Place Charitable Foundation.

This year’s Awards were presented by Christine Talbot, of ITV’s Calendar. Other Event Ambassadors attending included paralympian wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft and Paul Elliot, one half of the Chuckle Brothers.

Around 750 guests enjoyed a glittering evening where youngsters were honoured in two categories - up to 12 years old and 13 to 18 years old, for their courage, caring, sporting achievements, fundraising activities and outstanding bravery.

Skipton grandmother and childminder Nicola Garbutt who looks after a number of children and refers to them as her 'childminding gang' said she was thrilled they had won the Yorkshire Young Fundraisers Award category.

"The youngsters - Cora Hartford, 10, her sister Connie Hartford, 12, Noah Garbutt, nine, and Mrs Garbutt's grandson Harvey Hall, nine - had said at last year's awards when Harvey's brother, George, won an award there that they wanted to be on the stage the following year.

"I agreed with them but never thought it would happen, but there they were," she said.

"It was an absolutely fantastic evening. Unfortunately Noah could not make it because he was involved in auditions for a pantomime, but the other three had a wonderful evening. Everyone was so kind and they were thrilled to be on the stage to receive their award.

"I was so proud of them. Harvey had only had heart surgery four weeks before and was still weak and breathless, but was determined to enjoy the occasion," she said.

Mrs Garbutt, alongside her charges, has raised over £7,000 for the charity Heartline Families which helps families with children who have heart problems.

The money has paid for free wetsuits for children to stop they getting cold when they are swimming, a heart book, telephone support and caravan holidays

Both Mrs Garbutt's grandsons have congenital heart disease and have gone through gruelling treatment.

"Heart disease in children is the number one killer, yet there is no financial support for social activity for the families who often feel isolated.

"After a meeting with the children they said they wanted to set a new target. I suggested £2,000 but they want to raise £10,000 by end of October. "We have decided on £3,000 which will be spent to send a number of Heartline families to Butlins for a Christmas weekend when they can enjoy a deserved break with their children," she added.

"We have held many of events the largest being a Christmas party at the Hilton in Leeds. The children went to lots of local businesses in the area and so many were amazing, donating wonderful gifts.

"I've set up a fundraising page so we can reach the target the children have set and hope people will be able to support us."

Fund raising during the evening is paramount as every pound raised is matched by St. James’s Place Wealth Management with funds dedicated locally to make significant differences to the lives of children and young people in the Yorkshire region. The totals are still being counted.

Ewan Dowes, foundation representative for the Leeds location of St James's Place said: “We were once again extremely proud to host an amazing evening recognising the courage and achievements of some of Yorkshire’s finest young people, whilst at the same time raising funds for our charitable foundation. We are, as ever, thankful to our commercial sponsors and the SJP Leeds Partners without whom we could not continue to evolve this amazing event. We are already starting on plans for next year which is our 10th Anniversary event and we are intending to make it something very special indeed.”

To make a donation to Mrs Garbutt's fundraising page for Heartline Families go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nicola-garbutt2