ARDROSSAN activist and cervical cancer survivor Suzanne Fernando is in the running to win £25,000 towards community causes after being shortlisted for Regional Community Hero of the Year for her volunteering.

The mum of two, who campaigns about autism and cervical cancer, was nominated by her husband Kes and made the Scotland and Borders shortlist within the Britain Has Spirit Awards.

Suzanne told the Herald: “As a local community cancer and autism activist I am absolutely delighted and feel honoured to have been shortlisted for the regional shortlist stage of the Britain Has Spirit campaign.

“The category I was nominated in by my husband is the Regional Community Hero of the Year.

“I am absolutely blown away by the decision of the judges who have selected me as the Scotland and Borders regional finalist.

“I really can’t believe it and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet and I keep pinching myself to make sure it’s real!”

Britain Has Spirit is a new initiative, launched by Together Mutual Insurance and fronted by TV favourite Gabby Logan, which aims to search for Britain’s best volunteers.

Nominees rely on the public to cast their vote across 10 British regions.

If Suzanne wins in her category, she will be awarded with a fun experience day and £1,000 towards a street party.

She will then be entered into the National Britain Has Spirit vote with the hope of winning £25,000 to go towards a local good cause.

Suzanne said that if she won the top prize she would donate the money equally between three charities close to her heart.

One of the causes that the 42-year-old wants to help is the National Autistic Society Scotland for the charity’s One Stop Shops, which offer people with autism and their families information, advice and support.

She said: “As many people know my eldest daughter Jordan is autistic and is now an ambassador and young campaigner for autism.”

Suzanne also wants to give some of the money to North Ayrshire Cancer Care, which provides palliative care for patients suffering from cancer and its treatments who require transport, therapy, care and support in the community.

The charity was a huge support for Suzanne after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of just 28 while pregnant with her second daughter.

She said: “This charity was my lifeline as I went through cervical cancer treatments whilst my husband stayed at home and cared for our very young autistic daughter and newborn baby girl Aaron.

“It was a devastating time for our whole family but North Ayrshire Cancer Care made the whole process much more bearable for us. I really don’t know how we would have coped without them.

“Winning this amount of money would be our way of giving back not only to our community but to a charity very close to our hearts.”

Suzanne said that the third recipient to share her prize money will be Ardrossan Castle Heritage Society.

Urging people to vote for her, Suzanne added: “This would be a huge boost for both our cancer and autism community charities so can I please ask the readers and residents of Ayrshire to show your support by voting and sharing.

“It is one vote per day but you can continue to vote on a daily basis for the next few weeks.”

You can vote for Suzanne by visiting this link, selecting the ‘Individual’ category and clicking on Suzanne’s picture.

You can vote up to once a day. Voting closes on June 17.