A YORK optometrist has won an award for helping to provide eye care services for the homeless.

Benji Chandra, an optometrist who works at York Hospital, has won the Healthcare award at the Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever Awards 2022.

He has been recognised for helping homeless people in Leeds on a voluntary basis with Vision Care.

Benji completed a first class degree in optometry, and has worked at Vision Express and the Outside Clinic.

He has also for the University of Bradford as a Clinic Supervisor, and is a junior faculty for Johnson and Johnson Vision.

The Healthcare award was sponsored by University of York.

Runner-up for the Not for Profit award was Ekansh Kapoor, the vice-president for the Graduate Students Association of the University of York, who ran a campaign to waive off continuation fees of research students, which impacted 1,000 PHD students.

He has also lobbied for family study spaces at the university library services.

Dubbed the YAYAs, the awards launched in 2020 to celebrate young people aged 16 to 30 of South Asian heritage who were born, are living or are working in Yorkshire, and have overcome barriers to progress.

This year's awards ceremony, on Friday, November 11, was held at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford, hosted by BBC TV and Radio Presenter and stand up comedian, Noreen Khan.

The YAYAs were founded by QED Foundation, a charity which improves the social and economic position of disadvantaged communities.

QED worked with headline partner, York St John University, to organise the awards.