Five police officers from Durham Constabulary have received awards for the way they bravely handled three incidents.

PC John Lamb, 32, saved the lives of two teenage brothers from a house fire in December 2003 by fighting his way through thick smoke to save them. The fire in Main Street, Shildon, had been sparked by a chip pan.

PCs Helen Naylor, 31, and Andrew Wells, 26, were commended by St John Ambulance for their efforts to save the life of an elderly driver who had collapsed at the wheel of his car.

They were the first at the scene of a road accident, in Newton Aycliffe, on Boxing Day, 2003, and discovered the 76-year-old slumped over the wheel and unconscious.

For 25 minutes the pair, who were still probationer officers at the time, tried to keep the man alive until an ambulance arrived.

He died in hospital three days later.

PCs Richard Gatland and Tina Smith were also presented with certificates by St John Ambulance, for attempting to save a man who took a drugs overdose at his West Cornforth home last summer.

At a presentation of the awards by Sedgefield Borough Mayor Jackie Piggott, Chief Superintendent Robin Trounson said: "Often the good work of police officers goes unacknowledged. These awards thank these officers for their services to the community which are over and beyond the normal call of duty."