A DEDICATED daughter who has looked after her disabled mum for more than a decade has been named the top carer in the South East.

Kirsty Brown, 24, has been a lifeline to her mother Judith Dalkins, who suffers severe back problems and restricted mobility.

Judith was pushed down the stairs by a teenager while working as a social worker in 1998.

The fall shattered two discs in her back, but she did not realise the severity of the problem and returned to work for two years before finally being hospitalised.

Doctors said she was lucky not to have been paralysed. By this point Judith was struggling to walk and she had to stop working.

The grateful mum nominated Kirsty for a young carer of the year award, and after her regional triumph, she will now go forward for the national BUPA carer of the year award.

Kirsty said: “I could not believe it when they told me I had won.

“My mum hadn’t told me she had nominated me, so it was a complete surprise.

“Everything I do is second nature to me. It doesn’t seem so special.”

Judith, 44, relies on her daughter to cook, clean and look after their house in Manor Road, Benfleet, as well as provide personal care and moral support.

Kirsty said: “Sometimes she can’t walk and sometimes she can, but she’s in a lot of pain.

“It’s quite hard when at first you don’t know how to use the oven, and then later your friends are going off to the Glastonbury festival or on pub crawls. My mum would encourage me to go out. She never made me stay in, but when it’s your parent and you can see they’re in pain, you want to be with them.

“I still had a social life. My friends would come to see me at home because they knew my situation.”

Kirsty’s dedication is even more remarkable as she is suffering from chiari malformations, a defect in the part of the brain that controls balance.

The condition causes her severe headaches and means she may have to undergo surgery in the future.

Judith said: “She’s done everything for me. She never complains, she never says ‘this is hard’.

“She doesn’t just help me with my personal care, she sits hour after hour speaking to me when I am down.

“A daughter should not have to hear her mother talking like that, but she takes it all in her stride.

Kirsty will find out tomorrow whether she has been successful in the national awards when she is treated to a VIP trip to London to attend the swanky awards event.

The overall winner will be treated to a luxury holiday.