POLICE officers who risked their lives to help others are to be rewarded at a national ceremony.

Five officers from the North-East have been nominated in the annual Police Bravery Awards organised by the Police Federation.

The men, along with 47 other officers from across the country, will attend a ceremony next month and meet Home Secretary Jack Straw and the Prime Minister.

Each police force in the country was asked to nominate an officer for the awards.

PC Trevor Myers, of the Cleveland force dog section, was nominated for arresting a violent robber who was thought to be armed.

In February last year, PC Myers detained a man who fitted the description of a robber who had held up staff at a Teesside newsagent at gunpoint.

Despite a violent struggle, PC Myers arrested the man who later tried to escape from Teesside Magistrates Court but was captured and sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Alan Woodhouse, secretary of Cleveland's Police Federation, said: "Trevor dealt with a very dangerous offender in a manner which displayed real courage and disregard for his own personal safety.

"His nomination in the Police Bravery Awards recognises his professionalism in the face of real danger, his courage and determination to carry out his duty, and is testimony to the many risks that police officers take on a daily basis."

Traffic policeman Derek Houselander, of the North Yorkshire force, put his life in danger when he jumped into the River Ouse in York to rescue a drowning man last June.

Although the man could not be revived, PC Houselander managed to save the life of his friend who got into difficulties after diving in to help.

Durham force PC Simon Rogers and Special Constable David Peacock averted a Christmas tragedy when they rescued six people from their blazing home in Newton Aycliffe during the early hours.

They battled through thick, acrid smoke to rescue all the occupants when kitchen units caught fire after a cooker was left on.

PC Scott Hardwick, from Northumbria Police, was off-duty and on his own when he confronted a gang of 20 hooligans as they began savagely beating a man on a train.

Although PC Hardwick was injured, he managed to arrest some of the gang before help arrived.

The awards ceremony is being held on June 15.