IAIN and Annie Petherick are celebrating after winning a parent carer award for their work with their son.

The couple received the accolade at the Members Dining Room at the Palace of Westminster, hosted by Radio 4 Woman’s Hour presenter Jane Garvey.

Nadhim Zahawi minister for children and families gave the family the award at the ceremony organised by the charity Contact.

They were nominated for the award for their care of their eight-year-old son Ollie who has Angelman Syndrome.

The condition restricts his mental and physical development and affects one in 12,000 children.

“I was really shocked and delighted,” said Mrs Petherick, 30. “We had no idea we would received the award.

“It was a big event with lots of families there and we were really impressed with the palace as it was so beautiful and huge in size.”

She said that the family had adapted to life with Ollie and everything needed to be planned, but they had received support from family and friends as well as Contact.

The couple have two younger children, Freddie, nine and two-year-old Penny.

The award ceremony was introduced by the BBC presenter and featured 22 families who had been short listed from 600 nominations around the country.

Contact works with families with disabled children to give them help, support and advice.

The charity’s chief executive, Amanda Batten, said: “We think each and every one of the families nominated and shortlisted are winners and we hope our awards help to shine a spotlight on the positives that come with being a family with a disabled child.

“At Contact we often hear about when things go wrong for families, such as when they are struggling to get support for their child.

“This isn’t surprising as it’s what we are here for. But it’s important to recognise the things that go right too.”

Mrs Petherick has gained wider recognition with a blog that she writes called My Three and Me on Facebook, in which she charts life with Ollie.

The family was nominated by friend Hannah Burville and a staff member at the centre where the young boy goes for respite care, Sabrina Beedie.

Also at the event were Bracken and Mich Ronan of Corsham who were runners up in the Proudest Moment Award. They were recognised for their work in bringing up their daughter Rachel, six, who has just started at school after a long illness.