OKEHAMPTON childminder Estelle Wright is one of two runners-up in the nationwide search to find the Prima Childcarer of the Year.
The announcement was made last week at the Excellence in Childcare Awards gala dinner at The Savoy in London.
Estelle, who was featured in the Okehampton Times on June 14, when she was shortlisted for the award, has won £500 of jmc holiday vouchers.
She said she could not believe it: 'I really do enjoy my job and find working with the children so rewarding — it's wonderful to have won a prize for doing something I enjoy so much.'
From her home in Okehampton, Estelle has been a childminder for 18 years. She and her husband, David, who is also a childminder, work as a team providing all-day care for under fives and after-school care for older children.
Estelle, described by one mother as a 'surrogate grannie' to her child, works hard to ensure that the children have a wide range of toys and activities they can enjoy and often takes them out on trips to the zoo and the beach.
The Excellence in Childcare Awards, in association with Nursery World and Prima magazines, are the creation of national childcare charity Kids' Clubs Network. The charity campaigns for safe, affordable, reliable and high quality childcare for all those who need it.
Chief executive of Kids' Clubs Network Anne Longfield said: 'Estelle is an exceptionally dedicated childcare worker — it's great to see her and others in the childcare field receiving recognition for an important job that does not often have a high profile. Well done!'