Girls given Kent Police bravery awards
Two 12-year-old girls have been given bravery awards by Chief Constable Ian Learmonth from Kent Police at a ceremony in Maidstone.
Katie O'Hara and Chloe Crockford escaped after a car they were in went into a lake in Ashford in April.
The pair released the seat belt of Phillipa O'Hara, Katie's mother who was driving the vehicle.
PC Alex Milward and Tim Burgess are also being commended for their role in rescuing Ms O'Hara from the sunken car.
Mr Burgess was the first person to dive into the lake and after 20 minutes Mr Milward freed Ms O'Hara from the car and she was brought to the surface.
She was then treated by an ambulance crew, who spent 15 minutes resuscitating her before she started breathing.
Ms O'Hara survived and is recovering.
She was at the ceremony to present the awards to the officers who saved her life.
"Thank you seems too small a word," she said afterwards.
"They do an incredible job. They're very brave... they're putting their lives at risk in every situation that they're dealing with."
Two men who helped a man who had been run over and another who had been shot in a family dispute were awarded National Police Public Bravery Awards at the event at Kent Police College, Lansdowne Avenue, Maidstone.
John Beale and Michael Wright tried to resuscitate Jack Treeby, who was was run over in Quarry Road, Maidstone in December 2009. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
The men also treated Gary Treeby, Jack's brother, who had been shot. He was treated in hospital and recovered from his injuries.
During the ceremony 39 police officers and civilians received awards in recognition of their bravery.