Winners announced at Police Bravery Awards 2010

Five Metropolitan Police Officers were voted the bravest officers in England and Wales tonight at the 15th annual Police Bravery Awards held at The Dorchester in London.

The gala evening organised by the Police Federation of England and Wales and The Sun newspaper was attended by fifty-eight of the most courageous policemen and women from forces throughout England and Wales. The ceremony followed a reception at 10 Downing Street hosted by the Prime Minister, David Cameron and Home Secretary, Theresa May.

The five winning officers; PC James Berry, PC Jonathan Lowe, PC Stuart Higgs, PC Adrian Pine and PC Dion Bird were presented the award by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, for their bravery tackling armed and violent youths.

Whilst out on patrol the officers responded to reports of youths stealing a moped in West London. As the officers approached the males they ran off. Splitting up to tackle the two youths they showed exemplary teamwork. The officers chased the youths, tried to block their escape and kept members of the public safe whilst a brutal gun man fired at them all. Eventually through persistence they eventually caught and detained both men. All facing a very real threat against their lives

Winners from each of the eight regions were also selected;

The winner from South Wales is PC Elizabeth Window who managed to save a woman from certain death by holding on to her when she jumped from a bridge in Cardiff. PC Window struggled but managed to drag her to safety.

Winning the South East region award are two officers from Bedfordshire, PC Jenny Liddell and PC Gary Walker who risked their own lives to save the passengers of a car engulfed in flames.

The winner for the North West is given posthumously to PC Bill Barker from Cumbria who courageously saved the lives of members of the public from a collapsing bridge during devastating floods last year, tragically losing his own life in his gallant efforts to save others.

The winners for London (and the overall winner), were the five officers from the Met (mentioned above), who scooped the award for their incredible bravery tackling armed and violent offenders.

The winner of the Eastern regional award was single-patrolling student officer PC Paula Rutherford who tackled an armed and dangerous man, all the while keeping the public safe and the control room notified.

The winner from the North East region is North Yorkshire officer, PC Sarah Lacy. Despite suffering with asthma and being off-duty the officer entered a smoke-filled building near her home and rescued the residents inside without fear for her own health or safety.

The winners from the West Midlands are PC Linda Tooth and PC Hayley Court. The two officers took on a knife crazed man who was manically attacking his former partner in front of her children. The officers, without fear for their own safety, tackled the man saving the woman's life.

The South West winner is PC Tom Kinderman. The Wiltshire officer saved a trapped and unconscious woman from drowning after her car crashed into a river. He pulled the woman through the back window of her car as the front end was submerged in water.

Paul McKeever, Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales said;

"Each of these officers are truly deserving winners. I am extremely proud of their dedication to protecting us all from harm and threat. Thanks to these officers and their colleagues up and down the country, we can all feel safer on the streets and in our homes. Thank you to all of you and well done. Your actions are an inspiration to us all and a credit to the service."

Dominic Mohan, Editor of The Sun newspaper said:

"It is a tremendous honour for The Sun newspaper to sponsor these awards and show our appreciation for the selfless dedication to duty shown by Britain's police officers.

"All the policemen and women recognised at this year's Police Bravery Awards are very worthy winners and represent the bravery shown every day by officers across the country. Our very sincere thanks and congratulations to you all."

Home Secretary Theresa May said:

"Britain's police forces are a source of pride to us all, we ask them all to put their own personal safety at risk every day to protect us.

"The Police Bravery Awards honour those officers who have gone far beyond the call of duty - they are the bravest of the brave.

"Their courageous action and their dedication to the cause they serve is an inspiration and an example to everyone and I would like to join the Police Federation in paying tribute to them."