Inspirational youngsters from across the area were given a starring role at a high-profile awards night at Putteridge Bury for the 2007 SKF Luton and South Beds Young People of the Year.

Overall winner in the competition which "reveals, recognises and rewards" young people who give to others was 18-year-old Lynette Wieland, who has become one of the most prolific young volunteers in the county, clocking up over 800 hours of unpaid work.

With Millennium Volunteers, she has worked with a children's charity in Hemel Hempstead and helped to refurbish an activity centre for young people in Kent.

She carries out a number of roles within Guiding, including helping to run Rangers for the older girls and Brownies for the younger ones, and has also been instrumental in setting up Dunstable's Teen Council.

Lynette lives in the Signposts Hostel, Dunstable, where she moved after a breakdown in relationships at home. These have been re-built, but Lynette has stayed on at the hostel where she says the staff have helped her find confidence.

Junior Winner was Curtis Atkinson, from Farley Hill, Luton. The 14-year-old Lealands High School pupil is described as a "godsend" by his disabled single parent mother who suffers from multiple joint arthritis, osteoarthritis, a prolapsed disc, premature ageing of her bones, and an illness that affects her immune system. Consequently, she is unable to do much about the house, so Curtis has taken over virtually all the household roles, cooking the meals, doing the washing up, general cleaning, the laundry, ironing, shopping, and tidying up the garden. He also looks after his two young sisters and gives his mum her medication.

His mum said: "He's wonderful. I don't think there are many boys of his age like him who are so caring, loving and understanding. He has had to learn how to do so many household chores that are normally done by mothers. He is so good not only to me but his sisters as well. He has a lot of patience - he's a godsend."

Runners-up were Kirsty Chapman, 17, from Luton, and Hanna Dodd, 20, from Leighton Buzzard.

Kirsty was the first person in Bedfordshire to chalk up 1,000 hours of unpaid service with Millennium Volunteers, and is the youngest volunteer lifeguard at Keech Cottage children's hospice, where she gently and sensitively helps youngsters who are not expected to reach adulthood enjoy the hydrotherapy pool.

Hanna has been involved in numerous initiatives in her community, all aimed at benefiting the lives of other young people. She has been a member of the Leighton Linslade Youth Forum for six years, and has been a deputy member of the UK Youth Parliament. She also uses up annual leave from her full-time job to go to the USA with a charity that takes youngsters with physical and/or learning disabilities on skiing trips.

The overall winner won £1,000, the junior winner £500, and the runners-up £250 each, but award winners must give half of their prize money to their supporting organisation, which may be a charity, youth group, or school. In light of their outstanding quality, extra money was made available so that every other individual finalist received £50, and the two group entries £100, to donate to their various causes.

The principal sponsor of YOPEY was SKF UK, whose managing director Bengt Olof Hansson congratulated all the finalists. Judges included Bedfordshire's chief constable Gillian Parker, High Sheriff Vaughan Southgate, and Deputy Lieutenant Geoffrey Farr, as well as the chairman of Beds County Council, the mayor of Luton, the chairman of South Beds District Council, and Luton South MP Margaret Moran.

>> To find out more about the SKF Young People of the Year in Luton and South Beds awards, visit the website at www.yopey.org

>> And organisers are already on the lookout for nominations for next year's awards, determined to unearth even more inspirational stories which offer role models to our rising generations