A young carer says she feels burnt out, and forgotten about by friends as she takes on extra tasks at home.

Madeline, 16, from Bridgend, cares for her mum and granddad, a role she says she is happy to do.

But she has said people do not always understand its mental impact, and believes both formal and informal support is "crucial" to young people.

She is one of an estimated 170,000 young carers in the UK aged five to 17, but the Carers Trust calls that number the "tip of the iceberg".

The Welsh government said its latest strategy, which is expected to be published this month, had a particular focus on young carers and recognises their contributions.

Madeline, also known as Min, is one of 8,200 young carers in Wales. The 2021 census said there were about 120,000 young carers in England and 42,000 in Scotland.

She is still at school and hopes to be a paediatric doctor one day.

"For me, being a young carer involves helping my mum get up in the mornings, making sure my mum and my granddad have had their medication," she said.

"It also involves cooking meals for my mum, my granddad or my siblings.

"There's also the cleaning which I'll do, any household job really no matter what it is."

She said it can be difficult and often people do not understand what being a young carer entails.

"I find that my friends that aren't young carers don't tend to understand and that I can't always go out when they want or stay out to a certain time so I get kind of pushed aside and forgotten by my own friends," she added.

"Then there's the mental like side effects and stuff because obviously I'm caring about everyone else and I don't often tend to have time for myself."

Min said support, both formal and informal, "means the world" to young people like her.

When she was eight, Min was referred to Bridgend Carers' Centre, which is partly funded by Children In Need, which gives her respite and a chance to socialise with other young carers.

Without this, and support at school, Min said she "couldn't cope".

She said: "The young carers' group is so important to me because all my close friends that actually know what I go through, I get to see in these groups.

"They take us out places which I don't actually tend to do with my mum and my granddad because they're both so heavily disabled, so it's more for me to get out and express myself to be able to spend some time away from what I do."

Min will take part in the annual Children in Need choir which brings together young people supported by its projects from across the UK, singing a mash-up on the night.

She said: "It's shocking [to be] one of a handful of kids to be chosen, it's like, I'm one of the only people that are gonna be able to say I've sung with Children in Need and I'm so excited to be a part of it.

"It's going to be such a memorable experience, I just can't wait."

Min's mum Rebecca said she was "so proud" of her daughter and said support from the group had been the "making of her".

"It has opened her whole life up," she said.

"She's learnt lots of new things, mainly it's confidence and friendships, it's definitely made her a more rounded person, other people her age didn't quite fit with her because they didn't understand, but with the young carers groups, they all understand.

"I know that she doesn't ever see it as an extra responsibility, it's just what she does for her family, for us, because she loves me, she loves us, and she likes to be a caring person."

Alissa Bevan manages the group Min attends and said it was important to see young carers recognised.

"Min's confidence has grown massively," she said.

"She was very shy and timid, not that you would believe that now, and she's made so many really good friends from this group as well.

'It's just a chance for them to be children and not have to worry about all the other responsibilities that they've got a home and come and just have an hour for themselves.

"They're selfless and they give so much."

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "Young carers make a huge contribution to their families and communities. But caring should not affect their education or social opportunities.

"Our National Strategy for Unpaid Carers, published later this month, has a particular focus on young carers.

"We have worked with young carers, councils and support services to identify the action required so that young carers are recognised and they and their families get the help they need."

You can watch the Children in Need choir during the appeal show at 19:00 GMT on Friday 13 November on BBC One.