A ROYAL Air Force policeman from the North-East has received a commendation for his role in saving a man's life.

Corporal Sean Reece, whose father Derek still lives in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, received the commendation after he and his colleague, Corporal John Evans, saved the life of a man in Lincoln.

The incident took place last November when Cpl Reece, 30, and his colleague, drove into Lincoln from their base.

They saw a group of people standing around an unconscious man and stopped to administer first aid.

The man, who is not being named, had a weak pulse, was breathing shallowly and smelled strongly of alcohol.

He eventually regained consciousness, but his condition appeared to deteriorate. The two men offered to take him to the nearest taxi rank as the only way to get him to hospital, but he lost consciousness on the way.

He was not breathing and his pulse had stopped, so the men used cardio-pulmonary resuscitation until he started to breathe independently.

As they continued the drive to Lincoln County Hospital the man slipped in and out of consciousness.

On arrival, staff confirmed the man's life had been in danger and that he would probably have died without the policemen's intervention.

Receiving his commendation, Cpl Reece said: "Although John and I were only doing our job, it is fantastic to receive recognition for our actions that night."

Cpl Reece, who went to Spennymoor Comprehensive, joined the RAF in 1997.