The 27-year-old received his award from Paralympic legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson at a ceremony in London's Grosvenor Hotel.

Sheffield-based Bayley was born with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder that affected all four of his limbs and also overcame childhood cancer after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma at the age of seven.

That did not stop him from becoming one of Great Britain's most formidable Para-table tennis stars, however.

The Paralympic silver medalist avenged his London 2012 final defeat by Jochem Wollmert with a victory over the German in the group stages of this year's World Championships in China.

He then went on to beat the European champion Mykhaylo Popov in the semi-finals before defeating the world number one Maksym Nikolenko of Ukraine in the final to take the gold medal.

Will Bayley won gold at the ITTF World Para-Table Tennis Championships in Beijing in September ©ITTF



"I didn't think I had a chance of winning so it was a real shock," said Bayley.

"But I'm really happy and it is great to get some recognition for the sport of table tennis."

The Pride of Sport awards celebrated elite performers, unsung local heroes and those who volunteer and devote their free time to sport across England.

Alongside the Disability Sport award there were prizes for Inspirational Performance of the Year, which was won by Jo Pavey for her European Championships 10,000 metres victory; Coach/Manager of the year; Young Sports Person of the Year; and Local Hero of the Year, among others.

The winners of each of the 11 categories were chosen by a judging panel which included Baroness Tanni, Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle, England cricket's Ashes-winner Simon Jones, Sue Day, the former England women's rugby union captain, Sport England's Tanya Joseph, Britain's Sports Minister Helen Grant, and Julie Whelan, chief executive of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

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