Quick-thinking police officers and members of the public have been awarded national honours for bringing a car crash victim back from the brink of death.

The horrific incident and the life and death battle that followed happened last year in Hall Brow, Workington.

Michael O’Hare, of Moresby Parks, suffered a heart attack then crashed into a lamp post outside the police station.

First on the scene were Jonathan Sunter, of Whitehaven, and PC Scott Farmer who was off duty.

Between them and with the help of Anthony Brown, of Dean, Workington, they managed to get Mr O’Hare, who had stopped breathing, out of the van.

PC Farmer began administering CPR with Mr Brown and asked Mr Sunter to get a defibrillator from the police station.

Mr Sunter returned with PC Jamie Callon, who set up the defibrillator. Mr Sunter assisted PC Farmer and Mr Brown in attaching the pads to Mr O’Hare.

He was shocked once and the three of them resumed CPR until Mr O’Hare began to moan. Paramedics arrived on the scene and he was taken to hospital where he went on to make a full recovery.

Now PC Farmer, Mr Sunter and Mr Brown are all to receive Royal Humane Society resuscitation certificates and PC Callon is to receive one of the society’s certificates of merit.

Doctors said later that the swift help undoubtedly saved Mr O'Hare's life.

The four men have also won the personal praise of Andrew Chapman, secretary of the Royal Humane Society.

Announcing the awards at the society’s London headquarters, he said: “This was an incredible piece of team work from the four of them. They came together and did what needed to be done with the result that Mr O’Hare was brought back from the brink of death.

“The four of them richly deserve the awards they are to receive. At the same time this incident is one of many which emphasise the value of as many people as possible learning life saving techniques such as CPR.

"Although people who learn it probably hope they will never be called on to use it, this incident shows that if the time comes that it is necessary, it can, as it did in this incident, make the difference between life and death.”

No date has yet been fixed for presentation of the awards, which follow a recommendation from Cumbria Police, but it is expected to take place in the near future.

The Royal Humane Society is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 with the primary motive to promote techniques of resuscitation.

The awards scheme has evolved over the years, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.