Brave Sheffield bobbies nominated for bravery award

Police Constables Chelsea Rudge and Christopher Beevers will be honoured at the Police Bravery Awards in July, where their heroics will be outlined before the regional and overall winners are announced.

The annual ceremony recognises police officers who demonstrate outstanding acts of bravery.

In July 2015, PCs Rudge and Beevers were called to incident in Bluebell Close, Wincobank, Sheffield, where they found a flat engulfed in flames and a severely injured, unconscious man lying in the doorway.

The pair dragged 44-year-old Cy Cooper away from the burning property and administered first aid before paramedics arrived.

The daring duo, who were presented with a South Yorkshire Police bravery award earlier this year, then entered the smoke-filled flat to check it was empty before risking their lives for a second time after spotting two men, one of whom was later convicted of murder, going inside.

Mr Cooper died after being kicked and stamped on before being slashed across his neck.

His home was set alight to cover the killer’s tracks.

Paul Cain, 24, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years behind bars for the killing

Neil Bowles, chairman of the South Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation, said: “These officers deserve praise and recognition for their brave actions that day.

"It is these types of incidents that make policing unlike any other job, and it is the bravery and professionalism shown by these two officers that make them extraordinary people.”

The motive for the attack is not known but on the day Cain was heard saying he planned to visit Mr Cooper to discuss housing arrangements after Mr Cooper's flatmate, his dog and eight pups moved out and in with him.

Cain claimed he saw the fire when he was walking past and that he had tried to save Mr Cooper.

A post-mortem examination found that Mr Cooper had no soot in his lungs and was likely dead before the fire took hold.