Joey, a rescued capuchin monkey who lives at the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary at Looe, has won a special award.

The primate was recognised in the RSPCA and Daily Mirror's Animal Hero Awards 2014 for his bravery through adversity and helping other rescued monkeys recover from neglect.

Joey had a sad start – he was taken from the wild as an infant and flown from South America to the UK where he was locked in a tiny cage in a flat in Camden Town for nine years. He became crippled by bone disease and will always be severely disabled but, despite the physical and psychological trauma he endured, specialist care and his determination to survive helped Joey pull through and he now helps newly-rescued monkeys to recover and settle into life at the sanctuary.

Wild Futures director Rachel Hevesi, along with one of Joey's keepers, Claire Turnbull, attended the awards ceremony at London's Grosvenor Hotel and rubbed shoulders with animal-loving celebrities such as Brian May, Amanda Holden, Bill Oddie and Deborah Meaden.

Rachel said: 'We are ecstatic Joey has won and it was a real honour to be able to represent him and his friends at our sanctuary at the ceremony. He truly deserves recognition for his amazing strength of character in the face of such hardship. Although Joey now enjoys specialist care, large spacious enclosures and the company of other monkeys, we are still fighting to end the UK primate pet trade and save the thousands of others who are suffering like Joey did.'