POLICE FEDERATION BRAVERY AWARDS 2026


AVON AND SOMERSET PCs Jack Civill-Williams and Amy Montague rescued an elderly woman from her smoke-filled home during a fast-moving house fire in Yate. Last year they were returning from an unrelated call when they noticed smoke rising from a property on Witcombe. Trusting their instincts, they diverted to investigate and found the house was fully alight, with flames spreading rapidly. Their radio message was the first alert to Police Control, prompting the urgent deployment of fire and medical crews. Neighbours told the officers that an elderly woman was still inside the adjoining property. With smoke pouring in and the fire advancing, they made the immediate decision to enter, fully aware of the danger. Inside, visibility was poor and the air hazardous. They found the woman upstairs, extremely frail and unable to move easily. Remaining calm and reassuring, they worked together to guide her downstairs and out to safety, placing her in the care of neighbours until further help arrived.


CAMBRIDGESHIRE PC Callow and PC Kitson put themselves in serious danger to detain and disarm an armed offender in Cambridge. Last year they were on Headly Street when they saw two men cycling toward them. PC Kitson recognised one of them, who immediately turned and tried to flee. Suspecting drug-related activity, both officers pursued him on foot. They quickly caught up, and PC Callow grabbed the suspect’s coat. The man then crashed into a large plant pot and fell, leading to a violent struggle. During the confrontation, PC Callow saw the suspect pull a large knife from his trousers. Despite the threat, both officers continued trying to restrain him. PC Callow warned his colleague while fighting to keep control, sustaining a deep cut to his arm in the process. As the struggle moved into nearby bushes, PC Callow


managed to throw the knife out of reach. PC Kitson, seeing both the suspect and his colleague were injured, called for urgent assistance. Additional officers arrived and provided first aid. The suspect was arrested and found with cash, drugs and a burner phone linked to supply. PC Callow required surgery for his arm injury but returned to duty within weeks.


lane with vehicles speeding past. Acting quickly, he brought traffic on his side to a halt and stepped out to protect him. The danger escalated when the man suddenly climbed over the central reservation into the opposite carriageway, where traffic continued at full speed. In a split-second decision, PC Burgess vaulted the barrier after him. In the middle of lane three, surrounded by fast-moving vehicles, he grappled with the man in a violent struggle. Despite sustaining injuries, he maintained control long enough to detain him.


With traffic still rushing past, PC Burgess dragged the man to the hard shoulder, bringing them both out of immediate danger.


CLEVELAND PCs Adam Gressmann, Daniel Dredge and Elizabeth McClure risked their lives to save a vulnerable woman who had become stranded on a cliff edge late at night. At night, they were called


to reports of a woman in crisis at the top of a cliff. Her partner was already on scene, desperately trying to stop her from falling. The officers initially struggled


CHESHIRE A routine shift became a life-or-death emergency when PC Phil Burgess raced to reports of a man walking along a live motorway carriageway, a situation that could have turned fatal within seconds. Although not a traffic officer, PC Burgess responded immediately. He arrived to find the man walking in the outside


to locate them in the darkness, until they spotted a faint light further down the cliff face. They realised the woman had already gone over the edge and was trapped on a narrow ledge below, with her partner clinging to her to prevent a fall of several hundred feet. With freezing temperatures, no lighting and the Coastguard still en route, the officers made a split-second decision to descend the cliff without protective equipment. They reached the tiny 10–15ft ledge and immediately worked to secure the woman, who remained in crisis and at constant risk of slipping. Unable to climb back up, the officers stayed on the ledge in the dark for nearly three hours until specialist Coastguard teams arrived and carried out a complex rope rescue to bring everyone to safety.


13 | POLICE | JUNE | 2026


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