Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton is coming to Norwich to help celebrate the inspiring stories of young people from Norfolk and Suffolk.

Helen, who is the 33rd presenter of the classic children's TV show, is to host the grand final of the Bernard Matthews Youth Awards which will take place at OPEN on Tuesday, February 22.

The awards, now in their third year, aim to find and reward some exceptional young people in a range of categories. The standard of entrants this year has been extremely high, and on the night the winners of the eight categories - community, sport, bravery, charity, young farmer, environment, culture and education - will each be presented with a �1,000 prize. There will also be a special winner of winners award.

Helen said: 'I'm delighted to be part of the Bernard Matthews Youth Awards 2011.

'These awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the inspiring young people across Norfolk and Suffolk. I'm excited to be part of such a successful project which rewards the achievements of young people.

'It is important to celebrate these accomplishments and recognise the amazing things that young people are doing for themselves and their communities.

'The Bernard Matthews Youth Awards help honour these remarkable young people as well as offer the support needed to fulfil their future ambitions with the incredible prize of �1,000 of award money in each category.'

Helen has achieved some remarkable feats herself during her time with Blue Peter. In 2009 she became only the second woman ever to complete the Namibia Ultra Marathon - a gruelling 78 mile course through the Namibian desert.

She has also kayaked 2,010 miles down the Amazon in support of Sport Relief and in doing so broke two Guiness World Records - the longest solo journey by kayak and the longest kayak by a woman in 24 hours.

Lorna Cousins, marketing controller at Bernard Matthews, said: 'We're delighted to have Helen Skelton as our host for the Bernard Matthew Youth Awards 2011.

'These awards are designed to celebrate the achievements of young inspiring people in our region and who better to present them than Helen, a seasoned children's TV presenter and award winner herself.'

She added: 'We're extremely excited to welcome Helen to the awards and are eagerly anticipating the celebrations to honour those exceptional young people living in our region'.

The Bernard Matthews Youth Awards are supported by the EDP, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Open Youth Trust and The Garage.