Scottish heroes have been recognised at a national bravery awards at Edinburgh Castle.

A teenage boy from Livingston who jumped in to save two younger children from drowning was one of 30 people honoured for bravery. Sixteen-year-old Aaron Love was presented with his Brave@Heart award by First Minister Alex Salmond during a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle. He was one of the youngest of a group of police officers, firefighters, special constables and members of the public being recognised for exceptional bravery.

Other winners included four Inverness-shire shop workers who tackled and restrained a shoplifter armed with a knife, a Renfrewshire police constable who evacuated a Paisley tenement and disarmed a man threatening to start a fire and three members of the public who helped rescue a 15-year-old girl who fell down a ravine on the River Braan.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "The Brave@Heart Awards recognise and celebrate people who have shown exceptional bravery, whether in battling the elements to save others, by intervening to stop a criminal in the act or by showing life-saving presence of mind.

"The winners being honoured at Edinburgh Castle range in age from under ten to over 60, they live all over the country and are from all walks of life. What they have in common is that each and every one of them has shown remarkable courage.

"Each Brave@Heart award winner has risen to the challenge of the unexpected and shown the capacity to face and overcome danger in any number of forms. Each winner has stepped out of ordinary life and shown an extraordinary valour.

"They are all heroes and it is my privilege to present them with their awards."

The Brave@Heart awards replace the First Minister's Commendation for Meritorious Conduct. The first Brave@Heart awards ceremony was held last year. Emergency services - police, fire and ambulance - and other emergency responders in the public and voluntary sectors are invited to nominate members of their profession or organisation as well as members of the public. Nominations were considered by an independent validation panel chaired by Professor David Alexander of the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research at Robert Gordon University. The panel included representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Chief Fire Officer Association Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

One of the winners was Firefighter Allan Rodgers from South Lanarkshire who rescued a colleague who had fallen into a tank while responding to an incident at a waste management site. After his colleague was submerged twice, Firefighter Rodgers was able to hold him, prevent him going under again and eventually help him out of the water.

 

Posted October 12th, 2011 at 1010 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com 

 

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