Awards for hero cops
Published: November 6, 2006
TWO Sheffield police officers who saved a colleague’s life when her car overturned and landed on a live railway line were rewarded for their heroism at a star studded party in London.
Pcs Nick Parker, aged 33, and Sam Clifford, 27, were among 10 winners of Vodafone Life Saver awards.
The awards recognise unsung heroes and highlight the way mobile phones have revolutionised the way members of the public contact the emergency services.
The officers were also invited to a reception at Downing Street with Prime Minister Tony Blair.
They fought off competition from hundreds of entries to be selected by celebrity judges including Falklands War veteran Simon Weston, model Nell McAndrew, actor Martin Kemp and musician Myleene Klass.
Pc Parker was patrolling in a police car with his colleague Pc Emily Brearley in December 2004 when their vehicle ran out of control, careered down an embankment and ended up on its roof on a railway line on Tyler Street, Wincobank.
Nick climbed from the wreckage and raised the alarm, but Emily was trapped half in and half out of the car and bleeding from a head wound.
Pc Clifford, who was dating Emily at the time, had just dealt with a nearby pub brawl when the call for help came through on the police radio system.
He raced to the scene to discover his girlfriend, who he has since married, was involved in the accident.
Fellow police officers sat in stunned silence in the radio control centre and the rest of the district, listening in horror as they heard their colleague shout: “There’s a train coming.”
The Pcs used torches to signal high-speed trains approaching from both directions, and they were able to stop, averting a major tragedy.
Emily, who married Sam in July, paid a moving tribute on stage to her husband and colleague. She thanked them for their selfless actions and for putting their own lives in danger to save hers.
Nick Read, Vodafone UK’s Chief Executive, said: “Without the brave efforts of Sam and Nicholas that day, the outcome would most certainly have been one of tragedy.”
Other winners included four men who saved the lives of five seamen when their yacht was battered by giant waves in the Irish Sea and a Luton man who saved his colleague after he became trapped under his oil tanker when the Buncefield Oil depot exploded last December.
Celebrity guests at the Cafe Royal bash included Sky TV presenter Kay Burley, Martin Kemp, Sarah Harding from pop group Girls Aloud, Simon Weston and athlete Colin Jackson.
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