A 17-year-old Blackburn cancer survivor who has just finished his treatment has been invited to attend the King’s Coronation for his services to the community.

Sahil Usman was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 13, and while still battling the disease at 15, he decided he wanted to help the vulnerable people in his community during Covid-19 by creating gift hampers.

Sahil has been awarded the High Sheriff’s Young Citizen Award in 2019, as well as being given the Diana Award and most recently he was given the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List in 2022 for his services.

Sahil was also named Young Person of the Year in the Lancashire Telegraph Community Heroes Awards in 2021.

Now, the college student who goes to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School Sixth Form, will attend the King’s Coronation and said he was shocked by the news when he found out.

Speaking about his invite, Sahil said: “I was at sixth form and I came back home, and my mum told me that there was an email that said I was invited to the King’s Coronation.

“Initially I wouldn’t believe it because I thought, why had I been invited to the King’s Coronation? But then as the news came out about the Coronation then I was like yes it is a genuine email.

“It was a really exciting and an honourable moment because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to go and see the King’s Coronation in person.

“On the day, the crowning will take place and we have to be there for around 7am at Westminster Abbey.”

Shanaz Usman, Sahil’s mum, said she is really proud of her son.

Lancashire Telegraph: Sahil Usman gives hampers to the elderlySahil Usman gives hampers to the elderly (Image: Shanaz Usman)

She said: “I am proud of everything he has done for his community, and he is still doing it, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to go to the Coronation and actually be inside Westminster Abbey.

“And if you go early in the morning, you might get seating at the front so you will be able to see everything that is going on.

“I am really proud of him for everything he is doing despite going through his own treatment.

“He has finished his treatment now but everything he was doing he was going through his cancer treatment as well.

Lancashire Telegraph: Sahil Usman has been invited to attend the King's CoronationSahil Usman has been invited to attend the King's Coronation (Image: Shanaz Usman)

“Since he was diagnosed with leukaemia, Sahil has been doing Christmas presents for kids on the hospital ward, his radio show, presentations at schools about the awareness of cancer and then Covid came and he was extremely vulnerable himself so he wasn’t allowed to go out and get stuff because he was still on his treatment. Then he was watching the news which was showing all the shop shelves were empty and elderly people couldn’t get any essentials and Sahil said mum I want to make a gift hamper for them.

“So, we both got the items and made 300 hampers for elderly people and then he delivered them to the vulnerable.

“Last year Sahil was invited to Buckingham Palace for the Royal Garden Party and then he was awarded a BEM and this year a random email came through that he had been invited to the King's Coronation.

“We didn’t believe it at first because it came as an email but when he came back from sixth form, I told him and he quite happy and proud, and it just motivated him more to do stuff in his community.

“He couldn’t believe it; we thought it was a scam email but then it was real.”