A PC and four Special officers who saved an unresponsive man from a gas-filled house in Warrington have won Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards.
In the early morning of 6 April 2025, PC Alex Hill (not pictured), Special Sergeant Ian Bailey, Special Sergeant Rachel McKinlay, Special Sergeant Caroline Jenkins and Special Constable Craig Hayden attended a concern for welfare call about a man who was threatening to take his own life.
S/Sgt Bailey recalled: “There were two double-crewed Special patrols on that night. We were just leaving a job when the welfare call came in. We were two miles away, so we got there quickly and were closely followed by PC Hill. We arrived at the mid-terrace house, but there was no answer at the front door when we knocked.
“We looked through the letterbox, and there was quite a significant smell of gas coming from within the property.
“The front door was unlocked, so S/Sgt Jenkins and PC Hill entered the lounge and found a man unresponsive on the couch. I went to the rear of the property, making sure nobody else was in there, and as I entered the kitchen, I found that all four gas burners were on, not ignited. I quickly turned those off.
“S/Sgt Jenkins and PC Hill were trying to lift the man out and, between the three of us, we got the man onto the pavement outside. He was thankfully breathing, albeit he was unresponsive. We then just entered into first aid mode. My colleague called for an ambulance and also for the fire brigade to attend because of the explosion risk.”
Both S/Sgt Bailey and SC Hayden are nurses by profession, and PC Hill is a public order medic, so they did everything they could to look after the man.
The officers were also concerned for the welfare of the neighbours. PC Hill said: “You could smell the gas on the street, so a couple of us stayed with the man, and the rest of us knocked on the neighbours’ doors to make them aware that we might have to get them out quickly, to get ready to evacuate, given the gas.”
PC Hill said he was grateful for the experience of the Special Constables: “They consistently perform to a really high standard. I couldn’t ask for a better team of Specials to attend, really. They’re a cracking team that I’ve worked with before on multiple different jobs. And from a team cohesion perspective, I don’t think it could have gone better.”
When S/Sgt Bailey heard the team were nominated for a Federation award, he said: “It was a fabulous surprise, it was very much out of the blue. It’s an honour to be nominated. I don’t think any of us Special Constables would wish to take any more glory for the job than any of our regular colleagues. At the end of the day, we choose to do this for the right reasons, and to work alongside our regular colleagues and not to be seen any differently is a pleasure in itself.”
Cheshire Police Federation Chair Jamie Thompson said: “Well done to this brave group of officers – their teamwork, decisiveness and courage prevented a potential tragedy as well as a wider danger to the community.
“They are very much deserving of a Bravery Award. This could have gone horribly wrong. But the team combined to use their policing skills – and some skills from their day jobs to save the day. Brilliant work.”
PC Hill, S/Sgt McKinlay, S/Sgt Bailey, S/Sgt Jenkins and SC Hayden will attend the Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards 2026 on Thursday, 12 March.
At the event, an overall winner or winning team will be announced, who will travel to London for the national Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.
