A volunteer who beat a drug addiction has been nominated as an unsung hero.
 

Andy Clarke, 51, struggled with heroin and cocaine use in the past, but now volunteers with Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness and Street Pastors, having got to know a previous unsung hero, Dan Wheeler.

He said: “I had an idea it would be good for me to help him doing outreach.
 

“I have been in a situation where the future looked bleak, dark, and hopeless – and that resonates with a lot of people who are homeless.
 

“It just needs people like Dan to give you that helping hand.”
 

Andy said being nominated would make his mum “extremely proud”.
 

He said: “I’m looking after my mum, and she can’t do the things she wants to do independently.
 

“I go down and do a bit of shopping, whatever I can.”
 

He also cared for his nan for eight years.
 

Andy said: “Not one day did I see it as a chore, because she was such a lovely person.
 

“I just wanted to bring joy into her life and she brought joy into my life.
 

“Caring for people is actually a two-way thing, and you get to appreciate how positive people are. It was a real life lesson for me.”
 

Andy, from Teddington, said his own life has served as a basis for his voluntary work.
 

He said: “It is just that initial helping hand – because I had a similar experience I wanted to bring that to bear. It is very important to me.
 

“I feel like I have got a 20-year lease of life back. I just hope I can be a good role model for people.”
 

Another recent unsung hero, Dave Hand, said: “He is always busy and he is really enthusiastic about it, that is what I like about him.
 

“He used himself to help other people and I really admire that. He is a really nice, genuine guy.”

Do you know an unsung hero? Call 020 8744 4273 or email newsdesk@surreycomet.co.uk.