16 Jul 2026
Two city police officers risked their lives climbing under a train at St Albans station to save the life of a man whose leg had almost been ripped off after he fell off the platform and was dragged along by a train.
have each been awarded one of the country’s highest bravery and life-saving honours.
PS Lee Hammond and PC Callum Sliwinski have each been awarded one of the country’s highest bravery and life-saving accolades – the rarely awarded Royal Humane Society Bronze Medals – following the harrowing incident in the early hours of September 27.
The man’s leg was virtually severed from his body in the accident. By the time the two officers arrived overhead current had been turned off but trains on the line were still active.
Ignoring any danger to themselves their only thoughts were to get the injured man to safety and stem the profuse bleeding from his wound.
They jumped down on to the line, crawled under the train, and used a belt as a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding.
They then dragged the victim to the side of the track and with the help of others on the platform succeeded in getting him through a narrow gap between the train and the platform.
Once he was safely positioned on the plaform they removed the makeshift tourniquet and fitted a proper one.
The man was then rushed to hospital where his leg was amputated. He and his family later met with the two officers and thanked them personally for saving his life.
Praising the two officers Andrew Chapman, secretary of the Royal Humane Society said: “This was a horrendous incident. The man was very lucky to have survived. The two officers richly deserve the awards they are to receive for ignoring the obvious dangers to themselves and climbing under the train in the middle of the night to save the man. They were true heroes.”
The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back nearly 250 years. Other than awards made by the Crown it is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.
It was founded in 1774 by two of the day’s eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.
However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.
The Society also awards non healthcare professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the Society has considered over 90,000 cases and made over 220,000 awards. The Society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.
