A POLICE officer who dragged a teenage boy from a burning house has been given a bravery award.
PC Rick Callaghan, 40, saved a 15-year-old boy who was trapped inside his smoke-filled bedroom on December 12 last year.
PC Callaghan had been the first at the scene of the fire, on Albert Street, Dawdon, east Durham, but when he tried to get in the house he was beaten back by flames.
With the help of a neighbour, he managed to reach the boy using a ladder, and used a wheel brace to smash the bedroom window.
The teenager was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation while PC Callaghan needed stitches to cuts on his hands and face.
The police officer, who is based at Seaham and has been in the police force for 16 years, was presented with a framed certificate of commendation yesterday from the Society for the Protection of Life From Fire.
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