Brilliant Bravery Awards

SOUTH Yorkshire Police Federation’s Bravery Awards, which were held on 25 May, were a brilliant opportunity to celebrate officers’ courageous actions, Federation Chair Steve Kent said.

Among the winners at the Federation’s second annual awards ceremony were PC Natalie Butler, who risked her life charging into a burning building to rescue its elderly occupants, and PC Jamie Walker, who broke through ice to help a woman pull her dogs from a freezing lake.

PC Toby Brown and PC Harriet Murray were recognised for detaining a violent rapist following an aggressive burglary and attack. A team of eight officers received awards for their actions in disarming a man who was pointing a loaded crossbow at them.

Winning a posthumous award were Sheffield Constabulary officers PC Gilbert Robertson and PC Dennis Hastings. Sixty years ago, they were unarmed and first to the scene of a horrific shooting at a Spital Hill pub, and it is the first time they have been recognised for their bravery that night. Their families were presented with the awards and it was announced that the trophy that goes to the overall winners of the South Yorkshire Federation Bravery Awards every year will be renamed The Gilbert-Dennis Award for Bravery.

Lastly, the Inspiration in Policing Award was given to PC Alison Slingsby, who has tirelessly raised money for charity since she was diagnosed with MS in 2020.

The lead sponsor for the awards was The Northern Police Healthcare Scheme; also sponsoring the awards were Serve and Protect Credit Union, No 1 Copperpot Credit Union, Niche, The South Yorkshire Police Federation Group Insurance Scheme and Police Clubs Financial.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “As last year, it was another superb night. It’s so nice to see the positivity. As a Federation, we spend a lot of our resources rightly defending officers and protecting them, but we also need to put some resources towards the positive side of policing, which is why it’s such an honour to put this on.

“The officers whose families received the posthumous award are going to be the subject of a BBC radio documentary. It’s great to raise our profile and for the public to see the brilliant work that our officers do. Our winners all had a fantastic night, it was really enjoyed by all.”