A 94-year-old who has been serving tea at two Colchester hospitals for 50 years could be crowned an unsung hero.

Grace Thompson, from Colchester, has reached the final of the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons.

She became involved with the Colchester League of Hospital and Community Friends in 1967, when her husband, Thomas, was the hospital administrator.

Since then she has been taking the hospital shop trolley round Colchester General Hospital every Tuesday and helps out at the tea bar at Essex County Hospital every Friday.

She has also helped to fundraise with fetes and coffee mornings to provide vital pieces of equipment for the hospital.

She said: “It’s about meeting people, providing a service.

“You don’t do it for what you get out of it – you do it for what you can put into it.”

Speaking about her role at the hospital she said the main objective was to support patients.

She said: “We meet people from all walks of life, some enjoy talking, some like to laugh and joke, and, of course, we regard all the staff as our friends.

“Voluntary work at hospitals can be rewarding, we chat to patients, some of whom come regularly, some we get to know sufficiently to be able to pre-empt what colour they like their tea or coffee.

“They regard us as friends and a greater compliment couldn’t be paid.”

Set up in honour of Amplifon’s founder, Second World War hero Major Charles Holland, the awards recognise courage and achievement.

The finalists in Grace’s category for community champion, will be judged by a panel including Falklands war veteran Simon Weston, who is an ambassador for Amplifon.

Giuseppe Manzo, general manager for Amplifon UK, said: “We received some fantastic entries in the community champion category and the four finalists truly embody the heroism shown by Charles Holland.”

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on Tuesday. The judges will choose an overall winner from the category winners who will win a trip to Italy.