Worksop: Four-year-old role model Elias is ‘Inspirational Young Person of 2015’

The fantastic four-year-old from Worksop landed himself a thoroughly deserved £100 prize and one of the society’s sought after Robin Hood moneyboxes after being chosen following a nomination by his aunty, Tracey Guest.

The aim of the competition was to find a youngster who has shown incredible strength and determination in overcoming difficult challenges in each of the seven counties in which The Nottingham has building society branches.

Elias was chosen in Notts for the amazing fight he has shown so far in his life after being born two months early and with cerebral palsy.

He was unable to walk until undergoing a pioneering operation in November 2014 – something he was able to have thanks to the generosity of the Worksop public, who raised £20,000 to pay for the procedure and who are still taking part in charity events to gather funds for vital aftercare, including essential physiotherapy.

Elias’ mum Charlotte Haydock said: “Like many children who are born with illnesses, Elias has had to contend with so much more trauma and anguish than anyone of his age should have had to go through.

“But he has faced it all with such positivity the majority of the time and can often be seen with a beaming grin on his face.

“He is an amazing child and seeing him walk unaided for the first time last year after the op made us all smile and cry in equal measures.

“I know I’m biased but he is a really deserving winner of this award and as a family we can’t thank The Nottingham enough for choosing him.”

Elias himself added: “I am so happy to win this prize – I love the Robin Hood money box. Thank you so much.”

In her nomination Tracey, who found out about the competition from friend Jessica Winfield who works at The Nottingham’s Dinnington branch, wrote: “Elias has overcome many milestones for a small boy and deserves to win the inspirational youngster competition.”

The competition was part of an ongoing campaign to promote The Nottingham’s Robin Hood Young Saver Account.