A CARER has won a prize for her work with children and families.

Laura Ward, a carer with Ryedale Special Families, was named a runner up at the Great North Care Awards ceremony, held at the National Railway Museum in York on Friday.

Laura, 26, has been a carer since the age of 16, and has worked with Ryedale Special Families for the past six years.

She said: “I decided to become a carer when I did work experience as part of my NNEB qualification at Scarborough College.

“For me, the best thing is seeing young children overcome challenges they don’t think they can manage, and seeing the smiles on their faces.”

Laura was nominated for the award by her boss David Brewster, who saw it advertised in the Independent Care Matters newsletter.

She was then interviewed, and people at the care centre she works at, along with parents of the children she had cared for, had to submit reports about her.

Of the 255 carers nominated for the award, Laura was one of just 64 finalists, and on Friday, she was named as a runner-up.

Diana Gough, who lives in Rillington, mother of Ronnie, four, is one of those to benefit from Laura’s help.

She said: “Ronnie suffers from epilepsy and he has to go on a special ketogenic diet to stop him having so many fits.

“It involves a lot of preparation, as all his meals have to be measured out very carefully.

“I’ve also got an 18-month-old baby, so before Laura started coming to help us, I was tearing my hair out by 4pm each day.

“If it wasn’t for Laura, I really couldn’t manage. She has an amazing connection with children.

“She’s only been working with Ronnie for four months, and somehow she understands his needs as well as I do as a mother.

“I have seen her with other children as well, and she really puts 110 per cent into her work.

“This is much more than just a job for her, which I think is rare these days.”