Sheffield boy ‘Captain’ Tobias Weller feels ‘awesome’ after being honoured in Child of Britain Awards

And now so does the whole of the country, after the city’s ‘Captain’ Tobias Weller was one of the winners at the first national awards ceremony to celebrate the courage, fortitude, talents and triumphs of exceptional British youngsters.

The Child of Britain Awards took place last night (Friday, June 24) at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, hosted by Eamonn Holmes.

The evening featured a stellar cast of celebrity guests.

But the real stars of the show were the children whose achievements were being celebrated, including Tobias, who has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities in the city including Paces school and Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

He was winner of the young sporting hero award, for under 13s.

Tobias, aged 11 was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and autism at a very young age, making everyday tasks like getting dressed and writing a challenge.

‘CAPTAIN’ TOBIAS: Lord mayor presents special award to fundraising hero ‘Captain’ Tobias Weller BEM

He relies on a walking frame to navigate around his home and classroom, and a wheelchair for longer distances. In March 2020, inspired by Sir Captain Tom Moore, Tobias set himself the challenge of walking a marathon and then spent the next 70 days walking up and down his street in Sheffield with the help of his walker.

He then set out to complete an Iron Man Challenge and went on to run a second marathon using a race runner, cycle 112 miles with the help of an adapted trike and swim 2.4 miles in his local pool.

He raised over £158,000 for Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital and Paces School for Conductive Education. He is the youngest person ever to feature in the New Year Honours list and has received a British Empire Medal from the Queen.

As recently as this month, he walked 1km round Endcliffe Park to raise money for making children’s playgrounds more accessible for youngsters with disabilities. It had been delayed from May 21 because of Covid. A fundraising web page has been set up.

He said: “It makes me feel absolutely chuffed to bits to win this award. I can’t believe I’ve won the Child of Britain young sporting hero for 2022. I feel absolutely awesome.”