MBE for Herefordshire teddy bear charity founder

Ellie Somme has been appointed an MBE for her services to vulnerable children

The founder of a charity that sends teddy bears to vulnerable children across the world has been appointed an MBE.

Ellie Somme, from Eardisley, in Herefordshire, founded The Teddy Trust in 2012.

She has since sent more than 120,000 teddies to children in more than 15 countries, including Ukraine, Malawi and Mongolia.

Ms Somme said: "I'm very, very excited, very honoured, and just gobsmacked."

Teddy bears sent by The Teddy Trust to children in Ukraine

The 71-year-old, who runs the charity on a voluntary basis, has been appointed an MBE for services to vulnerable children.

However, when her letter arrived in the post informing her about the honour, she did not realise what it was and put it in a pile on her kitchen table.

"I didn't open it until that evening," Ms Somme told the BBC. "When it said 'you've been nominated', you could have knocked me over with a feather. I was buzzing."

The teddies are collected from across the UK and then sent to vulnerable children, including those in refugee camps in Greece and Syria.

Ms Somme was inspired to set up the charity when her friend, Judy Westwater, showed her photos of some of the children with whom she had worked in South Africa.

She decided to send a teddy to one particular girl who had been so badly abused she could not walk or talk. With that gesture, the seeds of the trust were sown.

Ms Somme said: "Every year we collect and send thousands of teddy bears to children who have suffered the horrors of war, sexual abuse or hunger and poverty.

"The teddy bears are not toys. They are sent with love and compassion from children in the UK who have understood what we do and have sent us their precious teddy bears.

"We believe that every teddy bear, given with love, can bring a little healing into very bleak lives."

The Teddy Trust sends teddy bears to vulnerable children across the globe

She said of the MBE honour: "It spurs you on, you get second winds. It's not just me, it's the whole charity and everyone who works in it that has been recognised for what we're doing and that's fantastic."

She added: "It made me think. People really value this and we really have to step up to it and push it on and take it forward."