A policeman who risked his life to help a suicidal woman has been rewarded for his bravery.

PC Mark Ritchie, of Eastbourne Police, swam out in dangerous seas to save the woman, who was trying to drown herself, last September.

He was on duty with PC Clifford Lee, 43, when the pair answered a 999 call from a member of the public who reported seeing a woman sitting on a sewage pipe at Langney Point, Eastbourne.

They found a 54-year-old woman dressed in slippers and a dressing gown, sitting on rocks surrounding the sewage pipe about 100ft from the shore.

The policemen tried to call to her but she paid no attention. They walked along the rocks towards her but as they approached, she slipped into the water and allowed herself to float away.

PC Ritchie, 35, got into the choppy sea and stood on some rocks in waist-deep water. He continued talking to the woman but she ignored him.

She deliberately turned herself on to her face as if trying to drown herself and appeared to lose consciousness.

Finally, PC Ritchie swam out to the woman. He took hold of her head and held it above water for several minutes until a lifeboat arrived and PC Lee directed it to them.

The officers were commended for their actions during a ceremony at Eastbourne Town Hall.

Eastbourne mayor David Stevens presented PC Ritchie with a Royal Humane Society Award. PC Lee received a Certificate of Merit from Assistant Chief Constable Tony Toynton.