FOUR police officers who saved the life of a man who tried to hang himself have won plaudits from a first aid charity.

Acting Sgt Iain Lambert and PCs David Gaskin, Mark Garfoot and Hilary Rice, were called to an addess in Peterlee, east Durham, after a woman reported that her father had phoned her claiming he intended to commit suicide.

PC Gaskin forced entry and the officers found the man hanging from the loft hatch.

PC Gaskin lifted the man up in an attempt to remove the pressure from his throat while PC Garfoot held his legs.

Act Sgt Lambert and PC Rice tried unsuccessfully to remove the ligature from his neck. They eventually managed to cut the man down. PC Gaskin gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and he began breathing, but then suffered a fit.

The officers again gave first aid until the ambulance crew arrived and the man was taken to University Hospital of Hartlepool.

PC Gaskin who played a particularly vital role in the incident was given a meritorious certificate from St John Ambulance, while his colleagues were awarded letters of commendation from the charity.

St John Ambulance has also recognised the actions of two Derwentside PCs who saved the life of a stabbing victim. Alerted by the ambulance service, Mark Cudden and Andy Phillipson attended a nightclub in Front Street, Stanley, where they found an unconscious man with a single stab wound to his chest, lying on steps at the front of the building. Noting he had stopped breathing, the officers carried out CPR. The man made a full recovery.