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Pc Kevin McClenaghan with his latest Royal Humane Society award

A BRAVE Brierley Hill policeman has been presented with a second life-saving award - and is due to receive a commendation for arresting four teenage joyriders while taking his daughter to the cinema.

Have-a-go hero Pc Kevin McClenaghan, who is based at Brierley Hill was thrilled to meet the three-year-old boy he saved while on holiday in Gran Canaria at the Royal Humane Society awards presentation.

"It was the icing on the cake to see him again. He has shot up and is fine now," said Kevin, who thought the youngster was dead when he was dragged from a swimming pool while suffering a seizure a year ago.

"His eyes were open and staring, his lips were blue and he wasn't moving. But I had to do something," the 39-year-old recalled.

He gave mouth to mouth resuscitation to Samuel Brickles, from Cheshire, as his desperate family looked on and after a few moments the tot came back to life.

The boy had suffered a seizure previously and has had one since, but Kevin, from Rowley Regis, was delighted to hear doctors are satisfied that there is nothing seriously wrong with him and that he is back to full health.

About four years ago, the first aider and self-defence instructor, also saved the life a colleague who was at risk of bleeding to death when his arm smashed through a window and was badly cut while attempting to catch an offender opposite Brierley Hill police station.

Kevin was off-duty at the time, on the way to a gym with his wife, and stemmed the blood flow until help arrived. The cut was just a millimetre away from the officer's main artery.

In his latest off-duty adventure, Kevin arrested four youths aged 14 to 18 after the stolen car they were driving round the cinema car park at Merry Hill almost crashed into his vehicle.

After some "verbal advice" he frog-marched the gang to the side of the car park while his daughter Kira, who was aged seven at the time, raced into the cinema to raise the alarm. One of the youths had a knife with him in the car and three of them were subsequently charged with vehicle-related offences.

Kevin is due to receive a commendation from West Midlands Police for his actions, adding to his collection of "four or five."

"These things just keep happening to me - it's a bit of curse sometimes, but a nice one and it was lovely seeing Samuel again," said the former soldier.

"It's just the way I am. When I'm in uniform it's my job, but when I'm out of uniform I still get involved, and when it's somebody's life on the line, you can't stand back and do nothing.

"But I don't consider myself to be a hero. I'm privileged to be in a job where I am surrounded by heroes on a daily basis, who would all do what I did."

11:44am Wednesday 26th March 2008

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