IT MAY be the middle of summer, but Oxfordshire's favourite secret Santa is still sweating it out in her jolly red hat.

Courtney Hughes, from Didcot, has already collected 1,000 presents this year to deliver to terminally ill children and care home residents at Christmas.

And it is that dedication that has landed the 18-year-old one of the highest accolades in the land for volunteering – a British Citizen Award.

Launched in January 2015, they aim to recognise extraordinary accomplishments by "everyday" people who might otherwise go overlooked.

Former Didcot Girls' School pupil Courtney started delivering presents aged 13, inspired by her great grandmother Elsie Richardson, who was stuck in hospital over Christmas.

The teenager said she was astonished to receive a BCA.

She said: "I was really, really shocked to be honest – I just couldn't believe it.

"If my great nan was still here she would be really proud of me."

Courtney and her parents Claire and Lee, who all live in Great Western Drive, have been invited to attend the awards ceremony next month at the House of Lords.

But Courtney does not even know who nominated her.

She said: "There were a couple of people who hinted about it and people commented on Facebook but I don't know who actually did it."

Courtney is the second Oxfordshire resident to receive a BCA after Wantage electricals shop manager Ray Collins picked one up last year in honour of his years of raising money for Cancer Research UK and other good causes.

Courtney's award is specifically a BCAV, awarded for "services to volunteering and charitable giving".

Last year she handed out 4,000 presents at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington and Helen and Douglas House children's hospice in Oxford as well as several care homes.

She explained: "It's all in memory of my great nan. She was in hospital over Christmas and she passed away there.

"It upset me seeing her there and not at home. I saw lots of other people there and it just didn't seem right They should have been at home with their family.

"I felt really bad, so I took Christmas to them."

Courtney, who studied at Abingdon and Witney College, is now working as a nursing assistant at Sobell House hospice in Headington.

She said she "absolutely loved" her work and is hoping to take a nursing degree at Oxford Brookes or with the Open University

Mike Faulkner, co-founder of the BCA, said: "The commitment and devotion shown by Courtney to help community members from all walks of life at such a young age is truly inspiring.

"She has helped the people of the Oxfordshire community both emotionally and financially and has given hope to those that need it the most."