A PAIR of siblings have been crowned Teesdale’s latest Young Heroes after being recognised for giving up their Christmas Day to help bring cheer to the elderly.

Joshua and Seren Greenwell and their parents have been volunteering at Christmas Day lunches for four years.

During the lunches they offer their musical services by singing and playing harp, violin and piano for residents at organised events.

This year, the Barnard Castle family performed at Beaconsfield Care Home, in Barnard Castle, where a special lunch was organised by Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Preet Singh while they also visited The Pathway in Middleton-in-Teesdale for round two.

PCSO Singh was so impressed with Joshua, 12, and Seren, 10, that he nominated them both for the monthly award.

Preet said: “Joshua and Seren impressed me so much with their festive spirit and selflessness that I felt they really deserved to be nominated for the Young Hero Award.

“Not many children would dedicate their Christmas Day to the service of others so they should be really proud of themselves.”

Parents, Chris and Felicity Greenwell, said they were very proud of their children, who have been learning music since they were five.

Mrs Greenwell said: “The children like to go and play where everyone likes to hear and they get great feedback from elderly residents.

“We are really proud of them for always wanting to give something back and they really enjoy it.

“It’s lovely because they don’t think they are doing anything special so it’s great that they’ve been recognised – they were very surprised.”

The Young Heroes Award scheme is a force-wide initiative aimed at children across County Durham.

The scheme is designed to recognise young people who go above and beyond in their communities.

Joshua and Seren will join fellow winners at a special awards night this year where one youngster will be crowned the ultimate hero by Durham Police.

Nominees must be aged 18 or younger and live in the force area.

Nominations for January’s Young Hero are now open to applications

Members of the public can nominate a young person for the award by emailing elizabeth.finn@durham.pnn.police.uk, or by sending a message to @BarnardCastlePolice on Facebook.