A father-of-three from Bradford is in the running to win a national accolade for his volunteering work.

Mohammed Amran, 30, has been shortlisted from thousands of volunteers as one of the top 45 volunteers in the country and he will find out at a awards ceremony next week whether he has won.

Mr Amran became involved in community work following the 1995 race riots in the city. "The problem was there was a lot of people speaking on behalf of young people. I decided that they needed a voice of their own," he explained.

From here Mr Amran helped to set up youth forums and youth groups in Manningham and Girlington to encourage young people to play a more active role in the community. He has helped to organise community events like garden parties, street parties and dinner events in the hope that these would provide opportunities for people of all races and cultures to get together and talk openly to one another.

Mr Amran, who works as a community cohesion manager at Greenhead High School in Keighley, is up for the Year of the Volunteer top awards in the category of Inspiration. "I feel proud and honoured to be nominated for this award," he said.

"The nomination recognises the work that I am involved in which is also important." The awards ceremony, on Sunday January 22, marks the finale of the year of the volunteer initiative and celebrities like Dame Kelly Holmes, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Pete Waterman and June Sarpong will be handing out the prizes.

Elizabeth Salter, CSV's Head of Campaigns, said: "During the Year of the Volunteer, we asked the nation to nominate people who they felt were exceptional volunteers. From 2005 medal winners, Mohammed is one of 45 people who we felt epitomised the spirit, dedication, innovation and impact that volunteers have.

"We are proud to have been able to recognise these stories, of ordinary people doing extraordinary things."

In 2002 Mr Amran received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bradford for his work with young people.

The Volunteer Oscars awards ceremony will be held at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, London.