HE HAS dedicated more than 30 years to community sport, and now Charlie Thorn has been declared the winner of a BBC award.

As previously reported in The Gazette, the 69-year-old was announced as one of the finalists in the BBC South Unsung Hero Award.

And his story was so inspiring that he has now been chosen as the overall winner for the South region. He will join other heroes from across country at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event in London on Sunday.

Mr Thorn, from Woodlands, Overton, was inspired to teach children to swim after he saw a young boy drown.

He was 15-years-old at the time and was fishing with friends in the River Itchen. They were told that a seven-year-old boy, who could not swim, had fallen in the water, but despite dragging him out, they were unable to save his life.

Mr Thorn, a retired handyman, has dedicated his life to teaching swimming at Lords-field Swimming Club at Overton Primary School’s outside pool, in Court Drove, since the tragic accident. The grandfather-of-four said he was “stunned” when he found out thathe had won the award.

He will join his partner Brenda Shelbourne at the grand finale, in which the winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be announced, with finalists including Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists David Weir, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Bradley Wiggins.

Mr Thorn said: “I’m very excited. It will probably never happen again in a lifetime that all these Olympians will be up for the award. We are also invited to the after show party.”

The programme will broadcast at 7.30pm on BBC One, when Charlie will find out in front of millions of viewers if he is the overall winner of the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award.

He said: “I would be speechless. I don’t think what I do is anything special.”

Charlie, who bought up four children as a single parent, was nominated by Amy Mosdell, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, from Overton, who was taught by Mr Thorn to swim as a child. She said: “His passion and energy for the swimming club is truly inspiring.”