Matt has been nominated for a Pride of Britain award, along with three others in the south-west. He said: "I'm just feeling really humble. It was a complete surprise and after ten years of doing this to raise money for other people and to raise awareness about Joe's story it was a pleasant surprise".

Matt said: "It was such a massive loss when Joe died that we had to do something to fill that void. This has been amazing experience and a real credit to Joe's legacy.   We have always told Joe's story to inspire people as he had battled off ten superbugs and put up such a great fight which he always did with a smile. We just wanted to celebrate the positive way he dealt with everything”.

Matt continued “when he died in our arms in HDU there wasn't a children's hospice available for people living in Cornwall so that was a really important part of our journey, to support the hospice and make sure it was built. Which it was and it is doing an amazing job to help families that are unfortunately in the same position that we were."

It isn't just about their family though and Matt has paid tribute to everyone involved in getting the Appeal to where it is today.

He said: "It's really exciting and it's a great opportunity to showcase the amazing way that people have supported us in Cornwall and particularly the people of Newquay and the surfing community”.

"It's an amazing town and there's some amazing people who live here and I think it's great for everyone to have some recognition for everything they have done to celebrate Joe's life and be part of his story - even though he's not here anymore. As a family, we're really proud of that."

The awards, hosted by The Mirror, celebrates achievements of people in the community who 'make the world a better place'. Winners are chosen after being whittled down from thousands of nominations, and are decided by a panel of judges.

This year's awards will be hosted on 31st October on ITV and be hosted at Grosvenor House in London.

The Tenth Joe Way Paddle for Life got underway with a spectacular scene, as three skydivers from Cornwall Skydive jumped from a plane at just 2,000ft, landing into the sea at Newquay Harbour. There were gasps and cheers from the crowd of over 1000 including 400 who entered the Paddle for Life this year.

Local boy Joe, was born with a rare genetic condition called Angelman’s Syndrome and died on the 7th May 2008 aged 4. He had been labelled a miracle boy after surviving meningitis, a potentially deadly skin reaction SJS and survived numerous superbugs. He sadly died of complete organ failure after suffering from Steven Johnson Syndrome for a second time.

The Joe Way Paddle for Life is in partnership with Newquay Towan Blystra Lions Club and Surf Life Saving Cornwall and at this year’s event raised a record £7,896.00. This was a combined effort of money raised from the paddlers entry money, food stalls, drink sales at the rowing club, prize draw raffle, sponsorship and a Crowdfunder page.

 Singer song writer James Morrison donated a signed guitar which raised £500.00 and the winning bidder was Matt’s Cousin Brian Way who is based in Portsmouth but is a great supporter of the Paddle for Life. A total of £1210.00 was raised on the Crowdfunder page.

Local surf club Wave Slaves raised £405.00 in sponsorship alone for their paddle teams and this was donated back to the club.  The burger van raised £719.00, Coastal Crepes raised £378.00, Skinners Brewery and the Newquay rowing club raised £200.00.  The entry money from the paddlers along with all the raffle and other donations this year was the most raised at this yearly event with a record £855.00.

The Garage Company have supported the event for the second year running and was joined by Andy Loo's, Newquay Towan Blystra Lions and Colourworx Accident Repair Centre.

Each of the sponsors donated £500.00 to get the charity pot started which raised £2000.00.

The charities that are receiving donations this year are The Children’s Hospice Southwest, Assert (who supports children with Angelman’s Syndrome) Newquay Towan Blystra Lions Club, Cornwall Hospice Care, Lusty Glaze Surf Life Saving Club, Combate Surfers, Newquay Surf Life Saving Club, Sainsbury’s chosen charity, Hayle Surf Life Saving Club, Cornwall Surf Life Saving Club, Bowel Cancer West, The Wave Project, Cornwall Air Ambulance, Ronald Macdonald House Bristol, and the mental health charity Mind.

The annual charity paddle has a great musical sunset session and this year's line-up consisted of Steel Appeal, local sensation Daisy Clark, The Blues Brothers on the run who ended up running through the crowds in front of the rowing club whilst performing!  and The Ferris Wheel Junkies who had a great set in the Rowing Club.

The paddle races saw children of all abilities paddling in memory of the Newquay toddler with commentary from Nick Williams, Dean Woods and Matt Way.

The paddle relay was won by Newquay Surf Life saving Club and, with 20 teams taking part, it was the fiercest competition to date.

The RNLI race was the most competitive to date, after a speech from Matt Way (Joe’s dad) which fired up all the lifeguards. Mawgan Porth won the relay and the Joe Way Memorial Cup for the first time, even though four of the team were in fancy dress. The Big Gun’s Trophy was won by Jasmine Mann.

The Tenth Joe Way Paddle for Life started with dramatic scenes as three skydivers jumped from a plane at just 2,000ft.

The Paddle for Life in partnership with Newquay Towan Blystra Lions Club and Surf Life Saving Cornwall raises money from the paddlers entry money, food stalls, drink sales at the rowing club and the prize draw raffle.

Parachutists Ben, Andy and Dr Ryan Jackson who was one of Joe’s doctors when he was treated at Treliske gave the crowds a real show, landing in the sea next to the mouth of Newquay Harbour. Ben, who also jumped at last year’s event, had the honor of deploying Joe’s flag which went without a hitch much to the delight of the crowds. The three skydivers were then rescued by Cornwall Surf Life Saving and entered the harbor to huge applause, their next task was to start the first paddle heat.

The annual charity paddle has a great musical sunset session and this year's line-up consisted of Steel Appeal, local sensation Daisy Clark, The Blues Brothers on the run who ended up running through the crowds in front of the rowing club whilst performing and The Ferris Wheel Junkies who had a great set in the Rowing Club.

Titan the Robot gave another spectacular show bringing the event to a standstill whilst entertaining for free.

The paddle races saw children of all abilities paddling in memory of the Newquay toddler with commentary from Nick Williams, Dean Woods and Matt Way.

The paddle relay was won by Newquay Surf Life saving Club and, with 20 teams taking part, it was the fiercest competition to date.

The RNLI race was one of the most competitive so far, after a speech from Matt Way (Joe’s dad) which fired up all the lifeguards. Mawgan Porth won the relay and the Joe Way Memorial Cup for the first time, even though four of the team where in fancy dress. The big gun’s trophy was won by Jasmin Mann.

The Paddle event has a lot of local business support and great raffle prizes. The Way family would to thank the following people: Cornwall Surf Life Saving, Newquay Surf Life Saving, Lusty Surf Life Saving, Perran Signs, P&J Print, The Garage Co, Andy Loo’s, Hutton hire, SW Hire, Skinners Ales, The Rowing Club, Bookers of Newquay, Ultra Entertainment, Millstone Sound, Beach Safety Team, Frontline Security, Purple Gecko Events, First Response GB, Newquay Activity Centre, Water safety provided by Cornwall Surf Life Saving, Newquay Harbour Sports, Harbour Master, Coastal Crepes, Newquay Fisherman, POW Energy Water, Ben Skinner, Tom Butler, Newquay Towan Blystra Lions and all the family and friends who helped and supported the event.

The following charities also supported the event: The Wave Project, Children's Hospice Southwest and Cornwall Hospice Care.

This year's event is looking at a record total of £7,000.00 with final amounts coming in and will be given to various charities in the coming weeks.

Matt continued: “It has been great that Cornwall Surf Life Saving has taken over the water safety and Towan Blystra Lions have taken over the land based side which has taken the pressure off and has ensured the longevity of Joe’s Paddle. As a family, we are very proud of how the town has made this event so special and we are looking forward to our tenth event next year”.

Phil Bunt, secretary of Towan Blystra Lions Club said: “Joe’s Paddle for Life has grown to be one of Newquay’s most enjoyable and worthwhile days and our club are delighted to be able to support it and help raise important funds to support local charities and good causes.”

To view photos from this years Paddle for Life CLICK HERE.