A MINE-CLEARING expert who lost his leg in an explosion while attempting to rescue a Lebanese shepherd will today be rewarded for his bravery.

But despite the prestigious accolade, David Alderson is remaining modest.

Mr Alderson, from Saltburn, east Cleveland, and colleague Damir Paradzik, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be presented with bronze medals by HRH Princess Alexandra during a ceremony in London.

The two men lost legs attempting to rescue the shepherd from an unmarked minefield in November.

A third man, Nabil Hammoud, from Lebanon, will also receive a bronze medal for his part in the incident.

The awards are being presented on behalf of the Royal Humane Society.

Mr Alderson said: "I found out about four weeks ago, but I kept it quiet. My family are all chuffed to bits."

The three men, who work for ArmorGroup International, a private security company, were involved in a cluster bomb clearance operation in South Lebanon at the time of the incident.

The trio heard an explosion in a nearby field and saw a shepherd in distress.

Mr Alderson, a former soldier, tried to direct the man to safety, but the language barrier and the man's state of shock made it impossible and Mr Alderson decided to try to rescue him.

Almost immediately, he stepped on a landmine, suffered serious leg injuries and was knocked unconscious. When he came to, he crawled to nearby rocks to await rescue.

The father-of-two was taken to hospital, where doctors amputated his badly-damaged leg.

Mr Paradzik and Mr Hammoud both attempted to reach Mr Alderson, but the former set off another mine and both men were knocked out.

Mr Paradzik also suffered serious leg injuries and, on regaining consciousness Mr Hammoud, who lost his front teeth in the explosion, set about pulling Mr Paradzik out of the minefield.

The shepherd left the minefield unharmed.

All three last night met up for the first time since the accident.

Mr Alderson said: "I'm looking forward to seeing them again."

Since losing his leg, Mr Alderson, 42, has been undergoing treatment at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and has been having physiotherapy to learn how to walk on his prosthetic leg.

He added: "I've just had another operation, so I need to let that heal before I use the false leg again, but hopefully I will be back at work in a couple of months."

Adrian Gilbert, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said: "These men nearly lost their own lives trying to rescue a complete stranger in highly dangerous terrain. We are proud to honour them for their bravery and humanity."