A mum-of-two who lost her hearing in a family accident aged three is now in the running for one of Britain's top small business awards.

Rebecca Breiner from Sittingbourne has reached the final eight in the Heart of Gold category of the Small Awards.

She was nominated as creative director of Sheppey's Song Signing Choir which performs songs using British Sign Language.

Becki, 40, from Bale Grove, Kemsley, said: “It is an absolute honour just to be nominated for such an amazing award but to be shortlisted just blows me away."

She lost 60% of her hearing at a family barbecue when she accidentally ran into the fire and burning embers fell into her ears.

The housewife has long campaigned for sign language to be taught in schools but first made headlines when she began posting videos of her singing songs in her kitchen and signing at the same time.

At one stage she ran into copyright problems covering This Is Me from The Greatest Showman but successfully fought for an exemption.

The videos became so popular she experimented with signing karaoke sessions in the back room of a Sittingbourne pub which led to creating a choir in 2019 which now performs at charity events across Swale.

Becki, a project coordinator with the Sheppey Matters charity in the Sheerness Healthy Living Centre, said: "I originally started song-signing to break the communication barriers for the deaf and hearing community. But as the choir grew I discovered anyone with a communication difficulty, whether verbal, physical or emotional, could benefit from the technique.

"It provides a fun and easy way to communicate using sign language and the power of music. All walks of life can come together, enjoy music and communicate in a way which is uplifting and mind-blowing. We not only break communication barriers but we help with isolation and loneliness, build self-esteem and confidence and empower members to grow and be the best they can."

She added: "It is a true privilege to work with such amazing people who often sadly get left behind because of their lack of communication abilities. I am so proud about this news. It is amazing little people like me can be recognised for their work and appreciated for their efforts to make the community a better place.”

The Small Awards, now in their sixth year, are a nationwide search for the "smallest and greatest" firms in the UK. It is organised by Small Business Britain which champions the nation’s six million small firms.

Michelle Ovens, who founded Small Business Britain, said: "Rebecca should be extremely proud of being shortlisted. The Small Awards is all about championing and spotlighting the nation’s small firms."

She said this year's awards had attracted a "phenomenal" number of entrants. “The Small Awards are an opportunity to applaud all the inspiring, positive things these fabulous, finalist entrepreneurs have achieved over the past year."

The results will be announced at a ceremony at St John’s church, London, on May 19.