A PC whose quick action saved a woman's life has been praised by St John Ambulance.

Dog-handler PC Daryl Edmunds, 31, is to be presented with a St John Ambulance award for dragging a woman from her car and getting her hospital treatment after she had taken a drug overdose.

PC Edmunds had been patrolling in the Batts area of Bishop Auckland in May, when he saw a woman slumped unconscious in the driver's seat of a car parked near the Bishop Auckland rugby ground.

When he saw notes left on the passenger seat which said the 42-year-old woman intended to take her life, he forced his way into the car and dragged her out.

He placed the woman in the recovery position and called an ambulance.

The woman, from Evenwood, had taken a large quantity of Diazepam tablets which would have killed her had she not received emergency treatment. Staff at Bishop Auckland General Hospital said the dog handler's quick action had undoubtedly saved her life.

Sergeant Ian Marshall, of the Durham police dog section, said: "This is typical of the professionalism and good work routinely done by PC Edmunds.

"We are very proud of all the officers who work in the dog section and this is a good example of how they must be prepared to deal with almost any incident they come across."