Alastair Hignell was among those honoured at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards show last night.

The former Bristol and England rugby player, who also played cricket for Gloucestershire, took the Helen Rollason award, which recognises outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.

Hignell, a former BBC radio commentator, suffers from an aggressive strain of multiple sclerosis and campaigns to raise awareness of the condition. He now writes a weekly column for the Post and the Western Daily Press.

Cyclist Chris Hoy won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

The Olympic triple gold medallist fought off competition from favourites swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton to scoop the prize.

Hoy, from Edinburgh, became the first British athlete to win three golds at a single Olympics in Beijing during the summer.

He said the award was a shock, and thanked the public for voting for him.

The 32-year-old is the first cyclist to win the award since Tommy Simpson in 1965.

"To win this in this year in particular, it's hard to explain what it means because I think British sport has enjoyed one of its best years in my lifetime," he said.

"It's incredible. This really is the culmination of 12 years of hard work for me."

Hoy led the British gold rush in the Laoshan Velodrome in the summer with wins in the team sprint, along with Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny, the keirin and the individual sprint.

Hamilton, 23, who became the youngest ever Formula 1 champion this year, took second place while 19-year-old Adlington came in third.

The swimmer, from Mansfield, won 400m and 800m gold in Beijing – making her the most successful Briton ever in the pool – and began the day as bookies' favourite.

Hoy's win completed a successful night for the British Olympic cycling team, which took the team award, while their coach David Brailsford won the coach of the year prize.

Paralympic swimmer Eleanor Simmonds was made Young Sports Personality of the Year award. The 13-year-old, originally from Walsall but who now lives in Swansea, took gold in the 100m and 400m freestyle at the Beijing games.

After receiving the trophy from boxer Ricky Hatton and footballer Theo Walcott, she said: "I'd like to thank you, it's been a good year and a good end to the year."

Sir Bobby Charlton took a lifetime achievement award, receiving the trophy from his brother Jack, who said he was "the greatest player I've ever seen".

Wiping away tears, Sir Bobby said: "I'm absolutely knocked out with this.

"I was fortunate enough to be good at the game. I found football was easy; I never understood when people couldn't play this game of football."

He thanked his wife and said he was proud to have been part of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in recognition of his incredible wins in the 100m and 200m in Beijing.