AN off-duty Special Constable who risked being swept to his death to save a 13-year-old boy trapped in a sinking dinghy is to receive one of the country's top life-saving honours.

Steven Linfoot, 34, braved treacherous currents to wade into waist-high water to rescue the terrified youngster, who was stuck in a dinghy that became trapped in a back-current on the River Wear, at Chester-le-Street.

Onlookers saw Mr Linfoot, who knew the stretch of water well after fishing there for years, use an underwater concrete plinth to walk half the width of the river, before throwing a life-belt to Daniel Brettle and pulling him to safety.

Mr Linfoot, a safety engineer at Nissan in Sunderland, will be awarded a Royal Humane Society testimonial for his part in the incident, last August.

He said: "He looked absolutely terrified and he was in a fair amount of danger - quite a few people had died on that stretch over the years. I don't really think I acted bravely, because I was sure I wasn't in that much danger myself."

Mr Linfoot also won the praise of Christopher Tyler, secretary of the Humane Society.

He said: "Happily, this incident ended with the boy being rescued. But Constable Linfoot put his own life at risk to achieve this result. If he had lost his footing, he would almost certainly have been swept away by the water and could then have been drowned. But for his efforts, there was also a high chance that the boy at the centre of the incident would have lost his life. Constable Linfoot richly deserves this award for his part in saving the boy."

A date for the presentation has yet to be set.