Daniel Summerfield aged 9, from Bettws Cedewain, Powys, has been chosen as the Badger of the Year having wowed the judges with his lively personality.

St John Ambulance Cymru has announced the appointment of their Badger of the Year, Cadet of the Year and Young Adult of the Year as the organisation celebrated 100 years since the first Welsh cadet unit was established.

The winners, having won regional competitions were invited to compete in the Grand Final in Llandrindod Wells where they assessed by  interview, a public speaking event, a first aid element, which tested decision-making, problem solving, communication and keeping calm under pressure, and finally a group task which evaluated team working and leadership skills.

This year saw the introduction of peer judges, this involved Badgers and Cadets local to Llandrindod Wells division being involved in the decision making process alongside a panel of judges from across the organisation.

The Badger, Cadet and Young Adult of the Year award are open to young volunteers between the ages of 5-25 who compete against each other to be in with a chance of winning the national competition.

The winners go on to become Youth Ambassadors and the voice for future lifesavers attending prestigious events across Wales and representing the current experiences and issues facing our children and young people today.

For the first time this year’s winners will sit on Llais, the new St John Ambulance Cymru committee for children and young people.

The new committee aims to redress imbalance in the organisation by giving a platform to children and young people from underrepresented groups such as LGBTQ+ community, Welsh speakers, disabled, rural communities, young carers and Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.

Among the other winners were Mali Stevenson, aged 16, from Pontypridd and Trehopkin, Mid-Glamorgan, who has been appointed Cadet of the Year, and Joshua Taylor, aged 19, from Deeside, North Wales, is the new Young Adult of the Year.

Andy Jones, the Interim CEO of St John Ambulance Cymru said: "I'm incredibly proud of everyone who competed in this year’s National Youth Competitions. 

"All should feel very proud of themselves, individual role models with a strong vision, some unique ideas, the feedback from the internal and external assessors was mightily impressive, further demonstrating the dedication and selfless generosity our young people so readily offer in supporting communities across Wales. 

"Thank you to everyone who gave their time to compete and huge congratulations to Joshua, Mali and Daniel. 

"They should all be very proud of their achievements, and I am very excited to see what they will achieve over the next year to further increase youth participation and voice. 

"Additionally, we look forward to supporting their on-going development as young leaders, which is essential to further deliver improvements which are closely aligned to the diversity and needs of our younger members.”