A nine-year-old Monmouth schoolboy has been nominated for an industry award after asking The Queen, Prime Minister and Jeremy Vine to save jobs and businesses in the coach industry.

Theo is a Year 4 pupil at Monmouth School Boys’ Prep.

He has been recognised in this year’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) Heroes campaign, which celebrates the best in the commercial vehicle sector.

Coach operators have been hit badly during the coronavirus pandemic through lockdown restrictions and a lack of government financial support.

Last year, Theo appeared on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, BBC Breakfast TV and Channel 5 news to highlight the plight of the industry.

Theo’s parents, Helen and Ceri, own a coach company in Gloucestershire, which lost income during the pandemic and had to refund deposits.

Theo wrote to the Prime Minster and Queen to ask why his family’s coach business and the rest of the coach industry had not received government support.

He travelled to London and Edinburgh on a coach and visited Cardiff and Bristol as part of the ‘Honk for Hope UK’ campaign.

Theo’s dad, Ceri, said: “Theo has been fighting tirelessly to save the coach industry during the pandemic, writing daily letters to Boris Johnson and The Queen asking for their support and he was determined to get answers.

“He spoke to radio and TV stations as he was determined to fight as hard as he could to save businesses and jobs within the industry.”

Ceri added: “Theo has been helping to raise awareness of the plight of the industry – we all have a lot to thank him for.”

Nominations for the awards close on Sunday 6th June and the winner will be announced on Friday 11th June.