A “selfless” Bury St Edmunds volunteer who gave over 600 hours to St John Ambulance last year is in the running for the title of Young Volunteer of the Year.

Bryony Charles, 23, is the unit event services lead at the Bury branch of the first aid charity and is waiting to hear if she has won Suffolk’s High Sheriff award for under-25s.

She was nominated by Steph Ruddy, the charity’s district event coordinator, who looks after 38 units in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

She said: “I put Bryony forward for this award because she is an exceptional young lady who provides numerous services within her St John Ambulance role of unit event services lead.

“She goes way over and above the expected duties of this role and in addition to the 101 hours she gave to perform this function, she also volunteered a further 544 hours to provide first aid cover at events in the district last year.

“Her dedication to the charity and the public is amazing, and she is selfless, thorough and thoughtful to the extreme. She is the youngest unit event services lead in our Central Anglia district.”

Bryony’s professional life and spare time revolve around life-saving. In addition to her volunteering, she works part-time for St John Ambulance and is a member of one of the commercial ambulance crews, providing vital back-up to the East of England Ambulance Service Trust during times of high demand.

Ms Charles said: “I put a lot of hard work and time into my St John Ambulance role and it’s lovely to have been recognised in this way.”

The awards will be announced at a ceremony on March 19 at Haughley Park Barn, near Stowmarket.