A SELFLESS Honiton hero has been praised at a national award ceremony for her work in the community.

Jo Coles, who works as a dog trainer, was one of 10 people shortlisted to win the HiQ Hero award from the Fast Fit Network.

Jo narrowly missed out on winning the award, but was given a huge ovation and words of praise from gold medallist Sally Gunnell at a ceremony in Birmingham.

She said: “It has been such a fantastic day and one I will never forget.

“Meeting the other finalists was a great pleasure,.

“They are all so inspirational and I couldn’t believe I was standing beside them.

“It was a shock to even have been selected, so I’d like to thank everyone who voted.”