A Leicester founder who built an app for disabled people has been named one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.

Simon Sansome won the Digital and Tech category at the Disability Power 100 for his work on Snowball.

Speaking to De Montfort University, Simon said:

“It was very unexpected but a lovely surprise, to have Snowball Community recognised. It has just grown massively over the past year and is the largest disability app in the world, showing the demand for change and information to help people like myself access the community”.

The startup, which boasts more than 100,000 followers on social media, has just released version of its app.

The 100 finalists were selected by an independent judging panel chaired by Andrew Miller MBE from more than 1,500 public nominations.

The list was topped by Dr Shandi Dhanda, who is a TV presenter and award-winning disability activist. She is founder of the Asian Disability Network.

Previous winners of the Disability Power 100 number one spot have included comedian and presenter Alex Brooker, campaigner and peer Baroness Jane Campbell and BBC disability journalist Nikki Fox.