A SCHOOLGIRL who has made a tireless contribution to the community has spoken of her surprise and delight at being honoured.

Eastbourne School pupil Samantha Weller, 15, was crowned Young Citizen of the Year at the Best of Darlington Awards. She also picked up the Young Person's Contribution to the Community Award.

Although she had been told before the awards ceremony that she was to receive the latter award, the Young Citizen award was announced on the night.

She told The Northern Echo: "I was very shocked - in a good way. I didn't expect to win the Young Citizen award at all.

"They told me that from winning the community award that I'd been put forward for the Young Citizen award."

Samantha, who is a prominent member of several community groups, including the Darlington Youth Assembly, the Youth Service, and St John Ambulance, first got involved in volunteer work when she was just eight years old.

She first got involved because some of her relatives, including her mother and grandfather, were members.

She has already been given the Silver Level Grand Prior award, the highest commendation on offer to St John volunteers, and now leads sessions for other young volunteers as well as providing first aid cover for public events.

Alongside her St John work, Samantha also volunteers for the Youth Service and helped to organise a week of sexual health workshops for young people across the borough.

When she is older, Samantha hopes to become a doctor, specialising in cardio-thorasics or psychiatry.

She said: "I want to help people and make a difference to lots of lives."

Samantha is also involved in United Nations children's fund Unicef as a youth voice volunteer, which involves finding out what young people want in the community.

So what motivates someone so young to give so much time to the community?

She said: "I see a lot of young people around Darlington that don't do much with their time and some of them are into crime and it gets to me a lot because there is so much potential that they are wasting. I am actually doing something with my time that is positive."