A THURROCK police officer has been commended for saving two lives on two separate occasions, including one while off-duty.

PC Kyle Denning attended a commendation ceremony with his family at Essex Police Headquarters in Chelmsford last week to celebrate his actions of bravery and courageousness during two dangerous and very difficult situations.

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington presented Kyle with two commendations – one of the highest honours a Chief Constable can give.

The first incident Kyle was awarded for was a road traffic collision that he attended with colleagues.

In April 2018, Kyle, PC Emma McIntyre-Major and PC Bradley Brown found an elderly man who had been in a road traffic collision in a remote location.

The man was unresponsive and officers immediately began performing life-saving first aid on him.

They performed CPR on him until an ambulance arrived.

The man eventually began to breathe for himself and was rushed to hospital to receive the critical care he needed.

Emma, Bradley and Kyle were commended for their dedication, compassion and prompt action which saved a man’s life.

The second incident Kyle was awarded for took place while he was off-duty with his family.

They were walking across a footbridge over the M20 motorway with their dog when he saw a woman sitting on the wrong side of the barrier who was intending to jump into the path of oncoming traffic below.

Kyle climbed over the barrier and started to talk to the women until police officers arrived. After speaking with the woman, Kyle and the officers managed to convince her to climb back over the barrier to safety. The woman was taken to hospital to receive medical treatment.

Kyle was commended for his bravery, compassion and determination which prevented a woman from taking her own life.

Chief Inspector Claire Talbot, District Commander for Thurrock, said: “I was pleased I was able to see Kyle collect his well-deserved awards.

“I’m really proud of him for his life-saving actions. He is a credit to the force and the people of Essex that he serves.”