Two men who stopped a man from bleeding to death were today honoured for their actions.

PC Tony Slaney of Northallerton Police and Gareth Hare, from Northallerton were presented with certificates of commendation from the Royal Humane Society by the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Della Cannings.

PC Slaney was on duty in the Elder Road area of Northallerton in November last year when he saw Mark Raw, from Brompton, leaving the Amadeus nightclub with blood spurting from his neck.

He stemmed the flow of blow by applying pressure to the wound with both hands. The two men then lowered Mr Raw to the ground and kept him conscious until an ambulance arrived.

Doctors at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton said he would have died if they had not applied first aid so quickly.

Ms Cannings also presented a series of commendations and long service awards at yesterday's ceremony at police headquarters in Newby Wiske, near Northallerton.

Superintendent Iain Spittal won a chief constable's commendation for his work as the force's head of public access from June 2003. He worked towards improving the police service to local communities and front-line officers.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "He played an integral role to improve the force's new call-handling system and drove forward crime recording and command and control initiatives which have delivered a first-rate service.

"Supt Spittal has also undertaken substantive work to ensure the upgrading and development of the force's radio network."

Scarborough PCs Jon Hutchinson and Philip Coles won commendations for confronting, chasing and arresting a knife-wielding man who had just stabbed someone in Huntriss Road, Scarborough.

Sergeant Gary Buchan and PC John Fawcett of Scarborough were given awards from the Royal Humance Society for rescuing a man from a burning car on the A64 Seamer Road at Scarborough in October last year. They smashed the windscreen and pulled the man to safety.

Long service medals were presented to Insp Tim Hutchinson of Scarborough, PC Charles Ungley of Easingwold, DI Alan Carey of York, PC Howard Smelt-Webb of York, PC Colin Rutherford of Knaresborough, Insp Kevin Franks of Harrogate, Sgt Ronald Allan of Stokesley, Sgt Geoffrey Brown of Easingwold and PC Frank Godber of Scarborough.