Birmingham schoolgirl to be honoured at Pride of Britain Awards
The eight-year-old has raised over ÂŁ200,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital.
Elizabeth Soffe will be given the Child of Courage Award for her charity fundraising, after raising the huge sum for the hospital which treated her.
When she was six months old and living in Qatar, Elizabeth's cot caught fire when an air conditioning unit malfunctioned. She was severely burned and in a life-threatening condition.
She was taken by air ambulance to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she underwent weeks of complex plastic surgery and reconstruction operations.
Miraculously, Elizabeth survived weeks in a coma and months recovering in the Burns Centre at BCH.
In the 7 years since the fire, she has had over 70 operations, reconstruction of her face and hands, skin grafts, releases of skin grafts and laser treatment.
She has daily physiotherapy and occupational therapy to treat her scars and ensure her range of movement is maintained and she will need many more operations as she grows up.
Elizabeth decided she wanted to raise money to help children with scarring injuries using a fractional carbon laser.
She decided to run a mile a day until she completed a marathon, raising money as she went.
Elizabeth, who still has scars, tells people: "It doesn't matter what you look like, it just matters that you're kind."
Among other winners being honoured at the Pride of Britain Awards are two West Midlands Police ofiicers.
PC James Willetts, 25, and PC Leon Mitoo, 34, will be given the This Morning Emergency Services Award after being stabbed in West Bromwich town centre.
Brothers Parminder Hunjan, 37, and Maninder Hunjan, 26, were jailed for a total of 26 years for the act in May 2022.
Mr Mittoo said: "I thought I was going to die. I just did everything I could. It was a fight for survival."
Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo will co-host the award ceremony on October 27.
More than 150 famous faces including Idris Elba, Dame Mary Berry, Molly-Mae Hague, Tommy Fury, Olly Murs and Holly Willoughby are set to join this year's winners to celebrate their heroism and bravery at the event.
Among the star-studded judging panel is actor Michael Sheen, Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams, Radio DJ Adele Roberts, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners Clare Gerada and Chief Constable Serena Kennedy of Merseyside Police as well as broadcasters Moira Stuart and Kate Garraway.
The Pride of Britain Awards will be broadcast on ITV on October 27 at 8pm.