Bravery award for Wolverhampton man over fire threat rescue
A 51-year-old Wolverhampton man has been given a bravery award for rescuing a woman who was threatened with being set on fire.
Steven Bayliss went to the aid of a woman who had been dowsed in petrol by a man who was attacking her, in 2010.
He said: "I did try to get the lighter off him but he wasn't going to drop it so I had to force it out of his hand."
Mr Bayliss was given the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) National Award for Bravery.
In September 2010, Mr Bayliss was on his way to work when he heard a woman's cries for help coming from a house in Wolverhampton.
He intervened when the woman appeared in the street being hit by the man.
Mr Bayliss said: "I'd locked him in my arms and I could smell something and it didn't register at first - then I thought 'Oh no, this is petrol'."
The woman later told him her attacker had poured a gallon of petrol over them.
Sgt Tracey McElroy-Baker, from West Midlands Police, said: "Had it not been for the bravery of Mr Bayliss, the police could well have been investigating a more serious incident."
Mr Bayliss was presented with his award at a ceremony in Birmingham hosted by West Midlands Police.