On Monday 17th October a talented young artist from Caterham was honoured with a top prize at a central London awards ceremony.

The Unique Art Awards, the first of its kind, championed some of the country’s best undiscovered talent by honouring some of Britain’s most talented disabled young artists.

17 year old Dougie Read, who is autistic and a student of Sunnydown School, won the Bronze Award in the 2D Artwork category for his original piece, inspired on the theme of ‘My World’.

The brainchild of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA) Trust Fund for Training of Handicapped Children in the Arts, the national competition celebrates five artistic mediums and opened for entries nationwide April to July this year for artists aged 7-21 years old.

Tom Yendell, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the MFPA Trust Fund and himself a mouth and foot painting artist, commented of the win; ‘The calibre of entries was superb and we are thrilled at how many we received for our first award but Dougie’s piece was a favourite amongst all the judges. We hope he enjoys putting his prize of art vouchers to good use!’

He added; ‘The Unique Art Awards is such an exciting initiative to showcase some incredible artistic talent. We’re looking forward to returning for another round in 2017.’