Scouts receive awards for bravery

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Twelve Scouts have been honoured for their bravery including a 13-year-old boy who risked his life to save a friend who fell through ice on a lake.

Damian Coles, of Stevenage, Herts, received a Scout bravery award for rescuing his friend who was drowning.

Hannah Walker, 14, from Sheerness, Kent, was recognised after she pushed another schoolgirl to safety when a vent fell from a school gym ceiling.

Chief Scout Bear Grylls said all 12 Scouts were an "inspiration".

Damian went into action after the other boy walked on to the ice to retrieve a bike which bullies had thrown on to the lake. He said: "I saw him fall in through the ice and I knew I had to do something quickly or he could die.

BRAVERY AWARD WINNERS Caroline Colclough, 17, Luton, BedfordshireDamian Coles, 13, Stevenage, HertfordshireMike Davis, 36, Grange-over-Sands, CumbriaKirstie Greenslade, Broadstairs, KentAndrew Hunt, 18, Deal, KentRobert Marsh, 11, Watford, Hertfordshire,Stephen Marshall, 10, Great Dunmow, EssexMark Rosevear, 24, Penryn, CornwallJoseph Slade, 14, Didcot, OxfordshireKerena Smith, 9, Eastleigh, HampshireShane Tew, 10, Crewe, CheshireHannah Walker, 14, Sheerness, Kent

"We got really cold and had to go to hospital but I'm really, really glad I was able to do something to help.

"I feel very honoured and pleased to be given a Scout bravery award."

Hannah suffered head and back injuries in her rescue, but continued to care for her friends who were also hurt.

"I just acted out of instinct and I was determined to help my friends. I never realised until later that I was injured as well," she said.

The youngest recipient was nine-year-old Cub Scout Kerena Smith, of Eastleigh, Hampshire, who helped care for her five-year-old old brother Ben during the time before her mother died of cancer.

The oldest was 36-year-old Scout Leader Mike Davis, from Grange-over-Sands, who headed a rescue team during the floods in Cumbria.

Bear Grylls said: "These Scouts have shown great bravery and their acts are an inspiration to many.

"Scouts train for these moments. I am so proud that when it mattered they showed great Scouting spirit."