Ant and Dec Florida trip for mum who set up school backpack appeal

Sophie Marie Bennett, from Walsall, said she was "shocked" to appear on TV

A woman who set up a campaign to provide school bags and supplies for children from struggling families has been rewarded with a trip to Florida.

Sophie Marie Bennett, from Walsall, was surprised with the trip on ITV's Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

She said she would never have been able to afford the holiday herself and was "totally shocked" to have been picked.

Her Back 2 School Back Pack Giveaway appeal has helped more than 800 children so far.

Each backpack costs just over £17 and she set up an online fundraising page to ask for donations.

Sophie Marie Bennett, from Walsall, said two friends had "sneakily" put her name forward

The backpacks are made available to any child over the age of 11 that needs one and Ms Bennett said the appeal aimed to "help even more students start the new academic year with confidence and success".

She also said she hoped to lift some of the financial burden on families in the Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Sandwell areas.

The appeal aims to reach the landmark of helping 1,000 children this year.

'Not an inkling'

Her appearance on ITV came as a complete surprise and she said: "My two best friends had arranged it, sneakily, behind my back."

A production crew hid upstairs and came down to surprise her when the announcement was made.

"I didn't even know we'd got tickets on the plane, I was just shocked we were on TV," she told BBC Radio WM.

Ms Bennett has three daughters and said: "Last year we were looking at Florida and I looked at the price and I thought 'we would never be able to afford this'."

She calculated the trip would have cost them about £14,000 and said her children were now counting down the days until they left.

People who have made a difference in their communities are among many of those given tickets for the Place on the Plane segment of Ant and Dec's Saturday evening show, which will see ticket holders flown to Florida to take part in the 2023 series finale at the Orlando Universal Resort.