Finley's Touch founders win Pride of Britain regional award

What happened?

Nicky and Ben Relf, from Haywards Heath in Sussex, won ITV Meridian East’s Pride of Britain Regional Fundraiser of the Year award for 2026. Regional winners attend the national Pride of Britain ceremony in London.

The couple are paramedics with South East Coast Ambulance Service. They set up the charity Finley’s Touch in memory of their son, Finley. He died of leukaemia just before Christmas in 2021, aged eight.

“He’s the strongest human we’ve ever met. He stayed positive. He loved learning,” Ben said.

What does the charity do?

Finley’s Touch gives practical and financial help to families of children being treated for cancer in hospital. ITV reports that it has provided:

• 514 hospital survival bags or boxes
• 578 grants and bereavement grants
• 435 National Trust memberships

ITV puts the value at almost £300,000 altogether. The survival boxes reach families across Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Why did they start it?

“We just felt there wasn’t enough support,” Nicky said. She explained that hospitals feed sick children, but not their parents. Families must also pay for parking and travel, often while they cannot work.

Jon Fox’s son, Daniel, was diagnosed with a kidney tumour. Within three days, Ben arrived at his door with a big orange box of supplies for hospital. The charity also gave the family a grant towards car parking, because both parents had stopped work.

What did the judges say?

Dame Kelly Holmes, the Olympic champion, judged the award with ITV Meridian presenters Sangeeta Bhabra and Matt Teale. She said the winners had turned “tragedy into hope”. She added that they had found what was missing in the system for families like theirs.

Finley’s Touch is also this year’s chosen charity at Haywards Heath Football Club.

Kirsty Waugh, a 2026 Child of Courage, has also raised money for children with cancer. See every 2026 Pride of Britain winner and regional finalist.