Pride of Britain winner aims to keep 'giving back'

Luke says the award is a bit heavy

An "inspirational" boy who underwent a quadruple amputation after contracting meningitis has said he wants to continue "giving back" after winning a Pride of Britain Child of Courage award.

Luke Mortimer, from Skipton, now 12, was just seven when he had his lower arms and lower legs removed after falling ill in 2019.

Since then he and his family have raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity, prompting judges for the competition, organised by the Daily Mirror, to praise his "determination".

Asked about the win, Luke said: "I've gone through all this, [with] everyone focused on me, but there are others in need so I want to give back to the people who saved me and others who need help."

Luke was told he had received the award during a surprise visit from Hollywood actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, when he and his dad, Adam, were invited to London.

"We went down to the hotel and were doing some filming and then The Rock came in to tell Luke he'd won," Mr Mortimer said.

Luke said he had asked his dad: "Why is he bringing room service?"

Luke got the full celebrity treatment with a red carpet interview ahead of Monday's ceremony

Mr Mortimer said Johnson was a "lovely guy".

"His PA was telling him he had to leave because obviously he had other media to do and he was completely ignoring her and just carried on talking to Luke," he said.

"One of the things he said was 'I inspire a lot of people' and now I've inspired him," Luke added.

Luke, who spent six months in Sheffield Children's Hospital before undergoing surgery, said the biggest challenge had been "learning again all of the things you usually learn at an incredibly young age".

"But," he said, "I'm a reasonably positive person and believe the past is in the past and you should concentrate on the future."

Mr Mortimer said: "Luke seemed to take it all in his, now, slightly smaller stride.

"He had his moments but mostly got stuck into whatever the task needed, from trying to balance to learning to use cutlery again, all mastered with a smile."

In 2023 Luke climbed 656ft (200m) to the summit of Embsay Crag, near Skipton, raising more than £26,000 for charities including LimbPower and Children in Need.

Last year, Mr Mortimer joined a team of 19 to climb the National Three Peaks and the Yorkshire Three Peaks in under 46 hours, with Luke and his mum and brother climbing the last one, Pen-y-ghent, to join them.

They raised almost £20,000 to help fund prosthetics for Luke and help other children with amputations through the Amp Camp Kids charity.

Luke attended the event with his parents and older brother

The ceremony took place on Monday evening with a host of celebrities and was shown on ITV on Thursday, however, Luke was more concerned about the weight of his award.

"[It's] reasonably heavy, mostly in the top," he said.

"We can melt it down and make a lot of spoons."

He said it was a "bit weird" to receive it, though he would keep it by his bedside.

"It was even worse on the train because Dad insisted on putting the Pride of Britain award out."

Mr Mortimer said the fact Luke had received the award was still "sinking in".

"We are immensely proud of him, we met some amazing people and they were all blown away by Luke."

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