A NORTH-EAST police officer and lifeboat crewman are to receive national awards after being scrambled during an exercise at an air show to a real rescue along the coast.

PC Robert Bagshaw, helmsman of Northumbria Police's inflatable boat Sabre, will receive a Royal Humane Society testimonial on parchment, while Brian Barkess, from Sunderland's all-weather lifeboat, will be awarded the society's resuscitation certificate for their actions on July 29 when they saved a 20-year-old man who got into difficulties after being swept out to sea in an inflatable dinghy.

Both men were involved in an exercise off Sunderland harbour, during the Sunderland Air Show, when they received a report that up to six people were in the water 400 metres off the beach at Easington, eight miles along the coast.

Sabre reached the scene first, followed by the lifeboat. Two people were stranded on a rock about 100 metres from the shore but were signalling that their friend was underwater nearby. PC Bagshaw spotted Steven Graham lying unconscious about three metres below the surface.

Despite not being a trained diver, he dived in and managed to pull the man to the surface.

He was showing no signs of life, but Mr Barkess managed to resuscitate him.

He was airlifted to Middlesbrough General Hospital and spent three days on a life-support machine. He has since made a full recovery.