OUTSTANDING achievements and acts of bravery by police and council officers have been recognised at the Bolton Excellence Awards.

Among the recipients were PCs Gareth Barnes, Michael Starkey and Paul Griffiths, who received the bravery award for saving the lives of a couple who were being violently attacked in their Blackrod home in October last year.

PC Janette Cahill received the Matt Dyson Trophy — for significant dedication to duty — after making 154 arrests in the past 12 months and being violently assaulted while attempting to detain a man in the town centre last year. The Police Staff of the Year award went to Tony Wood, Bolton’s Financial Investigator, for his work in seizing more than half a million pounds worth of assets from criminals in the borough last year.

Chloe Poole from Bolton Council’s Community Safety Team received an award for outstanding communication, for her work around reporting hate crime.

The winners, who were presented with their awards at Bolton Town Hall by Chief Constable Peter Fahy, were selected by a panel of judges made up of Community Safety and Bolton at Home, as well as Bolton’s Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Steve Hartley. Ch Supt Hartley said: “There is a lot of excellent work being done to tackle crime and disorder across Bolton.”

PCs Griffiths, Barnes and student officer Starkey saved the lives of Peter and Lesley Horrocks, aged 67 and 52 respectively, when they were attacked at home by Christopher Fletcher.

Mr and Mrs Horrocks told The Bolton News they believed they would be killed, were it not for the intervention of the three officers.

Fletcher, aged 22, of Macdonald Avenue, Farnworth, was later jailed for a minimum of five years.