THE bravery of three people who risked their lives to try to save the pilot of a crashed Army helicopter, is to be recognised.
Three soldiers from RAF Dishforth, in North Yorkshire, were killed when their Lynx helicopter came down near the village of Tilton-on-the-Hill, in Leicestershire, in May, 1999.
The £5m aircraft was on a reconnaissance flight from Dishforth Airfield to RAF Odiham, in Hampshire, when tragedy struck.
Tilton-on-the-Hill residents James and Mary Inchley and Norman Partridge rushed from their homes to drag one of the pilots away from the burning wreckage, but their efforts to resuscitate him failed.
They are each to be presented with a Queen's Commendation for Bravery by the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Timothy Brooks.
The ceremony will take place on Friday and it is hoped that Lieutenant Colonel Murray Whiteside, who survived the crash, will attend.
Sergeant Major Andrej Prenczek, Staff Sergeant Stuart Donnan and Staff Sergeant Peter Clyne died in the accident.
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