AWE-inspiring winners in this year’s Cambridgeshire Young People of the Year Awards have been told: “You are helping to improve the image of young people today.”

Prime Minister David Cameron led a sea of tributes to Fenland youngsters who won awards for their extraordinary acts of bravery and care.

At an emotional awards ceremony, the best and brightest young guns were rewarded for selfless actions such as caring for the terminally ill, fundraising for the disabled and volunteering in the community.

The trailblazers include 16-year-old Daniel Rushton, who campaigned for a �55,000 skate park in Christchurch after police told him off for riding along the footpaths.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Philip Taylor won �100 for helping run scout and beaver troops in Benwick and Sir Harry Smith Community College students were commended for buying a prosthetic leg for a pupil who lost a limb to cancer.

They also raised �8,628.11 for other causes, while Fenzone Youth Council was recognised for closing the generation gap in March.

Elsewhere, 14-year-old Lauren Wright, of Wisbech, won the Cambridgeshire Constabulary Junior Young Person of the Year title after caring for her chronically ill mum until her death.

Lauren did the shopping and cooking for her mum when she was eight years old but was later excluded from school.

She promised her mum she would “reform” - and has undergone a remarkable transformation as a result.

The teenager, who won �250, said: “I was just heading down a deep hole. Now I have a future ahead of me.”

Cambridgeshire chief constable Julie Spence said: “This young person provides us all with encouragement that whatever life throws at us, we can overcome it.”

Mrs Spence also said YOPEY should force people to change their “stereotypical views and misconceptions” of today’s youth.