Bravery awards for PCs who saved woman hit by train

Four police officers who were praised for saving a woman's life after she was hit by a train have received further bravery awards.

Firearms officers PCs Christopher Bell, Ben Hawley, Carl Holden and Tanveer Akhtar attended when a woman was critically injured by a train at Doncaster Station in August 2024.

They were honoured by the Royal Humane Society (RHS) last year, and have now received bravery awards from the South Yorkshire Police Federation.

Hawley said the award was "humbling", adding: "It just reassures you that, despite all the negativity that's out there about policing, we do some really good things."

The officers arrived at the station on 12 August to find a "busy platform of commuters".

"We ran past ambulance and fire services on the platform," Hawley said.

"Ultimately there was a lady under the train and she was still alive. So we've got to get on to that and deal with it."

The officers climbed down on to the track, after checking the live rail had been turned off.

• PCs honoured for saving life of woman hit by train

Several morning commuters witnessed the "horrific incident", South Yorkshire Police said.

Holden and Hawley climbed under the train and applied tourniquets to the woman's legs, while Bell and Akhtar crawled under the train to give further first aid as she also had a head injury.

"I had to take my stab vest off to get under the train," Bell recalled.

"It was surprising that she was conscious and talking. She could tell us her name, but was massively in shock.

"The paramedic arrived and gave us instructions, but ultimately he said he couldn't deal with her under the train.

"We only had about a foot (30cm) clearance above our heads, so Ben came in from the other side and the three of us moved her inch by inch so we could support her head."

The woman was taken to hospital and surgeons told police the woman's life "would have been lost" without the officers' intervention.

"That was nice to hear," said Bell, who has been in the job for 20 years.

"You very rarely get recognition, you don't really expect to hear anything back afterwards."

He said when the team heard they were receiving the bravery awards from the South Yorkshire Police Federation they were "completely surprised", despite last year's accolades from the RHS.

Steve Kent, chair of the South Yorkshire Police Federation, said it had been a "truly harrowing incident" and the four officers took a personal risk and showed "true courage, professionalism and dedication" in climbing under the train.

"They succeeded in saving the woman's life."

The South Yorkshire Police Federation Bravery Awards, in association with the National Police Healthcare Scheme, will be presented on Thursday ahead of national awards in London in July.

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