Twelve-year-old topper sailor Laurence Greenough has been awarded the Raymarine/YJA young sailor of the year award at the London Boat Show. The young sailor, who lost his leg in a boating accident in May 2006, returned to sailing in an unmodified boat just one month later.

A Raymarine spokesman said: “His commitment to helping others and encouraging potential young sailors is exceptional for someone of his age.”

Laurence, from Stonehouse in Plymouth, joined 12 others on Saturday at the Main Stage in ExCel to collect Regional RYA Young Sailor of the Year Awards presented by sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, in recognition of the outstanding achievements of youth sailors across the country.

Previous winners of the Raymarine/YJA award include Ellen MacArthur and double Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie.

The Yachtsman of the Year award will take place on Tuesday night at Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

RYA Regional Winners include:

York and Humberside – Tom Gillard
Northern Ireland – Tiffany Brien
North West – Rob Partridge
East – Katrina Curtis
South – Chris West
Wales – Joint Winners – Bleddyn Mon
Wales – Joint Winners – Tom Humphries
North East – Michael Matthews
Scotland – Ben Wilcox
East Midlands – George Hand
South East – Chloe Martin
South West – Laurence Greenough
Thames Valley – Imogen Stanley