A student who gives up five days of her week to volunteer at a night shelter and youth club in Ilford has been nominated for the Recorder/Rotary Young Citizen Award.

Anais Lungianbudi, 20, helps the homeless at the Salvation Army shelter in Clements Road, Ilford, by serving food and talking to people who have nowhere else to go.

She has attended the church with her family, from East Ham, since she was just six years old and still tries to spend as much time helping as possible.

Anais said: “I volunteered at the shelter when it started two years ago – I’d never done anything like that before.

“I’ve always wanted to work with people who have problems and get to know what’s happening in their lives.

“It’s so hard for them waking up in the morning having to go out into the cold with nowhere to go.

“I try to motivate them to know they do have a future after this.”

Aspiring actress Anais spends as much time as she can at the Salvation Army while studying for a degree in film and television acting at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick.

Musical creator and composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber is president of the prestigious college.

She also works part time at a bar in Notting Hill but said she would never consider stopping volunteering.

Anais said: “I may be young but if I can do it, it shows other people can help.

“I haven’t been a great role model for the whole of my life, but I feel like I have grown and changed through the Salvation Army.

“It gave me a new outlook on life.”

She was nominated for the award by Salvation Army corps officer John Clifton, who paid tribute to her exceptional contribution over the years.