MAVIS SMITH, 80, FROM NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, SAYS:
I'm nominating my niece Carol Nelson as my local hero.
After retiring, Carol, now 65, joined Northumbria Blood Bikes as a volunteer.
For the past five years, she's been raising money for the charity through tombolas and raffles, organising all the prizes herself.
Last year, she raised an incredible £4,000!
She's also a controller for the blood bike riders, and even turned her spare room at her home in Newcastle into a control room.
Two or three nights per week she works in the control room from 7pm to 1am, taking urgent calls from hospitals requesting blood and other vital necessities, and organising their safe delivery.
Carol was named volunteer of the year by the charity two years ago for her brilliant…
