What is a young carer? Who are they? What do they look like? Could you pick a young carer out in a crowd?

The truth is there are many young carers who go unrecognised. They are the unsung heroes of society.

The latest National Statistics indicate that one in five children of high school age are young carers, however they are unlikely to speak up or ask for help, some may not even realise they are a young carer.

Helping may be a normal part of growing up, however, this group of young people regularly carry out substantial caring tasks and assume a level of responsibility which would normally be associated with an adult.

Wired Young Carers Service in Warrington celebrated Young Carers Action Day on Tuesday through sharing online assemblies and raising the profile of Young Carers across Warrington high schools in order to educate, inform and identify Young Carers.

Warrington Guardian:

Wired Carers Service support carers of all ages across Warrington who are being urged to identify themselves when they fill in this year's census form.

The census is being held on Sunday. And the role of unpaid carers is among the questions.

More than 500 young and young adult carers are currently registered at in Warrington – although the actual number of carers is thought to be far higher.

Census 2021 contains a specific question on the provision of unpaid care: “Do you look after, or give help or support to, anyone because they have long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age?”

It is vital that all those providing unpaid care identify themselves as a carer in the census, by ticking ‘yes’ to question 24 and indicating the number of hours per week they care for.

A spokesman for the #countcarersin campaign said: "The census is taking place on Sunday and we want to ensure that everyone looking after someone else identifies as an unpaid carer when completing their form. This is hugely important because the census provides a vital opportunity for the number of carers, and their caring situations, to be officially recognised and better understood.

"Census 2021 will inform decisions on services that shape our communities, such as healthcare, education and transport, and it also provides a more accurate and up to date figure for the number of carers in the UK. Census findings are used widely by national and local government and many others – including national and local carers organisations.

"The opportunity to complete the census only comes around once every 10 years in England and Wales and these figures will provide a very important update."