The winners

Find out who won what at this year's star-studded Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards

The Prince of Wales, Tony Blair, Victoria Beckham, Jude Law, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and Rod Stewart were among over 100 stars attending the gala event at the London Television Centre.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, also made a rare appearance as she continues her recovery.

Kylie, in remission after breast cancer treatment, made her first TV appearance for nearly four months to surprise six-year-old Katy Miles and present her with a Pride of Britain Child of Courage award.

Thousands of nominations

The awards ceremony, presented by Carol Vorderman, is now in its eighth year and honours some of the country's bravest and most inspirational people.

This year's winners, who were chosen from 20,000 nominations, included an eight-year-old boy who has endured 130 operations, and a 12-year-old girl who has raised close to £1 million for the hospital which saved her life.

"It's a great chance to show there are amazing people in this country doing brilliant things which just take your breath away," said Carol.

The winners

Child of Courage:

Ollie Cartwright, nine, from Crick, near Northampton - picked up his award after enduring 130 major operations to remodel his skull. Ollie was born with the rare genetic and disfiguring condition Pfeiffer Syndrome - where the bones in his skull were fused together, leaving his brain with no room to grow.

"We sometimes just look at him with tears in our eyes because we are so happy he's still here", says his mother Julia. "We have almost lost him 11 times.''

Six-year-old Katy Miles, from Argyll - Katy had to endure weeks of chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer called Wilm's tumour, which later spread to her lungs. Despite losing her best friend from a brain tumour in January 2005, she bravely battled on and went into remission earlier this year.

She helped raise £650 for Yorkhill Hospital and the Beatson Oncology Centre, both in Glasgow, where she was treated, by selling signed Kylie Minogue memorabilia. Katy's dream came true when the Australian star burst into a room clutching a bunch of flowers and asked her: "How about a little cuddle?".

Brothers Daniel Rodd, 12, and Jason, 14, from Ipswich - saved the lives of three adults who were drowning at sea off the Suffolk coast.

The pair had jumped into the sea with their bodyboards after seeing the group had become caught in a vicious riptide and were being swept out to sea. The children managed to drag the trio back to dry land after battling against the strong tides - and saved the adults' lives.

Outstanding Bravery Award:

Irene King, 49, from Rossendale, Lancashire - helped save dozens of life and prevent a motorway pile-up when a bus driver passed out at the wheel. Ms King took over the controls as the double-decker swerved towards the fast lane of the busy M60 near Manchester.

Unable to reach the brakes, she drove the bus towards a line of traffic cones, which slowed the vehicle down just before it reached the congested junctions with the busy M62 and M66.

Anthony Crompton, 22, from Liverpool - was stabbed eight times after he confronted two armed robbers during a raid at his local garage. He single-handedly took on the two armed thugs in Skelmersdale near Liverpool, in an act of bravery which nearly cost him his life.

He managed to remove their masks during the three-minute struggle and from the DNA from the blood on the masks - police were able to track down the criminals and charge them over the robbery.

Alan Forrester, 59, from Aberystwyth - pulled a three-year-old boy and his unconscious mother from a burning car - just seconds before it exploded.

He raced to the burning wreckage and managed to free Cameron Silcox, and his mother Gillian by cutting through their seat belts and dragging them out.

Carer of the Year Award:

Stacey Heywood, 21, from Rhyl, North Wales - became Britain's youngest foster mother when she became the full-time carer of her two orphaned siblings four years ago.

After their mother died, Stacey then 16, Devon, 12, and Kyle, 10, were placed in temporary foster homes and made wards of court. In a desperate attempt to keep the family together, Stacey applied to become their foster carer and finally succeeded at the age of just 18.

Teacher of the Year Award:

52-year-old Headteacher, Linda Davies -  has made going to school an out-of-this world experience for pupils at Wiltshire's Neston Primary School.
 
They were the first in Britain to speak to an astronaut in space during a ten-minute question and answer session from their moonbase-themed classroom. The extraordinary link-up with the International Space Station became a reality after Mrs Davies submitted a strong case to NASA on how her pupils would benefit.

Fundraiser of the Year Award:

Kirsteen Lupton, 12, from Glasgow - has helped raise £767,000 for Great Ormond Street and has taken part in dozens of charity events for the hospital.

She was born with her bladder outside her body and has had to endure more than 15 major operations which have left her in terrible pain. But the brave youngster was determined to give something back to the hospital that treated her and helped raise the staggering total over the last two years.