John Joe Heuerman: The 13-year-old New Year Honours' recipient that really deserves it

John Joe Heuerman raised £235,000 for a bowel cancer charity after his grandmother died of the disease.

The 13-year-old schoolboy raised over £230,000 for charity (PA)

A 13-year-old schoolboy has been awarded an Order of the British Empire medal in the New Year Honours after he raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.

John Joe Heuerman from Kent raised a total of £235,000 for his bowel cancer charity after his grandmother died from the same disease. The money went to the Bobby Moore fund, named after the footballer who also suffered from bowel cancer.

According to Kent Online, Mr Heuerman has taken part in an annual charity walk since 2011 and raised enough money to fund a clinical trial for two years.

In February he cycled 700 miles to visit all of the Premier League football clubs in England, then he walked a further 50 miles to visit the rest of the clubs within London.

“I was really surprised and very proud to hear I was on the New Year honours list. I never realised my fundraising would go this far,” he told The Daily Mail.

The New Year Honours list includes people who have contributed to all sectors from charity and finance to public services and border security. Several high profile women became Dames in the awards, including EasyJet Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall, online fashion website Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and actress Barbara Windsor.

The honours sytem has been widely criticised this year amid accusations it is being used to reward Conservative Party "cronies" after it emerged that almost 30 Tory Party members or supporters were given honours.