I am so grateful to have played a small part in helping save children's lives

WATCHING the beautiful young bride glide down the aisle in New York, Sally Becker could not help but reflect on the day she first met Selma Handzar.

- SUSAN LEE and CECILIA ADAMOU

It was 1993 in east Mostar in the midst of the Bosnian war, and British humanitarian Sally was calming two frightened children who had suffered horrific injuries.

Sally, 63, recalls: "We were in the basement of a hospital. Selma was 10 and had just had her arm amputated. Her little brother had lost part of his foot. They had been playing out when there was an explosion from a grenade." With only enough anaesthetic for one, Selma insisted her brother have it. Sally says: "She told me, 'Don't worry, I'm fine. Later we managed to get both children and their mum to the US.

"I knew that day that helping children like Selma and Mirza was what I wanted to do." Over the next 32 years, Sally, nicknamed the Angel of Mostar, saved thousands of lives in war zones. And her humanitarian work has been recognised with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, with P&O Cruises.

Sally, who lives in Brighton, says: "I am very proud to be British, so having an award that says Britain is proud of me is just wonderful.

"Looking back over the past three decades, I'm grateful to have been able to play a small part in helping to save children's lives.

But the real inspiration comes from the incredible resilience of the children and families I've met." In 1993, Sally, then working as an artist, was watching a news report from Bosnia about its civil war.