Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Award

This new award is in recognition of individuals, whose actions have either saved life or minimised physical harm in the Night-time economy. It is open to people who work in the pub and hospitality trade, as well as members of the public or those serving in the emergency services.

Please note that this award is made at the discretion of the National Pubwatch Committee. We will not make awards if the incident is currently subject to a criminal or civil investigation or hearing by the Police or other formal body.

To make a nomination please click here.

 

Alan Gray – Swindon 2023 

Left to right: Alan Gray and ACC Dave Minty

National Pubwatch has given a Bravery and Meritorious conduct Award to Alan Gray, a Norwich security officer, who stepped in to save the lives of people on a night-out.

In the early hours of 9th October 2021 Alan was working as a security officer at an off-licence in Norwich.

Nearby a fight with five men took place outside a bar in Prince of Wales Road, the centre of the city’s nightlife.  Thomas James then took out a knife and started attacking people.

He was seen walking behind his first victim and caused ‘multiple lacerations.” Police officers said that they believed that this person ‘could have lost his life’. He then attacked a second person lacerating their armpit.

Alan intervened and held down the victim until the police arrived on scene. It was after the police arrived that Alan realised he had been injured during the struggle and suffered a small stomach wound which was later treated by paramedics.

At Norwich Crown Court the offender Thomas James was sentenced for three counts of causing grievous bodily harm. He was jailed for six years imprisonment for the first count and two years for each of the others, to run concurrently. He was also sentenced to 18 months for possession of a knife.

The judge commended Alan’s bravery for intervening in the incident and placing himself at risk.

The officer in the case DC Jordan Lowe said: “I fully support this nomination and it is only right that Alan’s selfless actions should be commended. He put himself in harm’s way and in doing so I have no doubt that he prevented the victims from sustaining further and potentially fatal injuries”.

Alan said: “It was nice to be appreciated by the both the judge and the police.

“People are not always recognised for that they do and it is really nice to be appreciated with this Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Award.”

Julien Autogue & Richard Wells – House of Lords 2022

Left to right: Steve Baker OBE Chair NPW Lord Kennedy, Julien Autogue, Richard Wells, Nigel Connor JD Wetherspoon

National Pubwatch has awarded bravery and meritorious conduct awards to an assistant pub manager and pub customer who intervened to catch a man who was attacking pedestrians and pub-goers in and around Regent Street, London, with a hammer.

It was 1 October 2021 when Morteza Ahmadi conducted a series of attacks, which were targeting women.

One attack took place outside Hamleys toy shop where he sexually assaulted a woman before hitting her on the head with a hammer.  Shortly afterwards he attacked another woman on Regent Street, striking her in the face with the hammer.

In the third incident he visited the nearby Leicester Arms and sexually assaulted a female customer before buying a drink.

Assistant pub manager Richard Wells had been alerted by a member of staff to the conduct of Ahmadi in the pub and entered the bar area to confront the offender. As he did so he heard the sound of breaking glass and a scream. Ahmadi had hit a woman over the head with the hammer and attacked her partner, before departing the pub carrying a rucksack.

Customer Julien Autogue, a French national who was in UK for work and was in the pub having a quiet drink, said he heard lot of screaming and saw the offender.

“He had a hammer and quietly moved towards the exit threatening people not to follow him,” he said. “None of us knew what he had in his bag.”

Both Richard and Julien decided to follow Ahmadi. They realised that he may have a weapon in his backpack but despite that decided to follow and apprehend the individual.

Richard shouted at Morteza Ahmadi to attract his attention, at which point Julien ran towards him physically tackled him to the ground.  Julien then restrained the man and Richard called the police.

On Friday, 13 May 2022 at Southwark Crown Court, Morteza Ahmadi was sentenced to 13 years in custody and a further five years on extended licence.

The investigating officer, Detective Jade Barnes stated: “I fully support this nomination. Julien and Richard’s actions should be commended. They put themselves in harm’s way to bring the offender to justice. In doing so, I have no doubt that they prevented many more victims.”

Richard said: “I didn’t really think. I just thought that could be my girlfriend sitting there, my boss sitting there and it could be anyone and I wanted to stop him doing it. I got emails from the police saying thank you. They said ‘If you didn’t step in then there would have been more lives put at risk.’”

He added: “I am still quite shocked to be receiving an award as I didn’t even know these type of awards existed. I am overwhelmed by this.”

Julien said: “I believe it is our duty and responsibility to look after each other. Especially when someone is in danger. I didn’t do much, I just did what was supposed to be done. But I’m very happy to receive this Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Award from National Pubwatch and it is a privilege to be given this award at an event at the House of Lords.”

Jonathan Parry, Lee Jones & Dafydd Murray – Guardian Protection Unit (One47 Club) – Nottingham 2022

Left to right: Jonathan Parry, Lee Jones, Dafydd Murray & Chief Inspector Amy English Nottinghamshire Police

Three door supervisors – Lee Jones, Jonathan Parry and Dafydd Murray – have received Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Awards for saving the life of a customer and fearlessly detaining the offender.

It was in August 2021 that a customer suffered a horrific knife attack at One47 Club in Llandudno, Wales.

It was 3am and the victim was sitting alone in a seating booth of the venue, near to the offender. CCTV footage later showed that the offender approached the victim and leaned in to chat before revealing that he was armed with a cut throat razor. He grabbed hold of the victim and slashed his throat and face before calmly walking away.

Bleeding and in shock, the victim approached door supervisor Dafydd Murray who noticed large open wounds to his ear, side of neck and his throat. He aided the victim to lay on the floor where he managed to compress the neck wound to minimise blood loss, whilst talking to the victim to keep him calm until ambulance crew arrived on the scene.

Meanwhile, door supervisor Lee Jones noticed his colleague Dafydd helping the victim on the floor and asked other staff members to review the CCTV footage to identify the offender.

Outside the club the offender disposed of the razor in a recycling bin. He then returned to the club. Without knowing that the offender was no longer armed, door supervisors Jonathan Parry and Lee Jones restrained him until police arrived.

Meanwhile colleagues secured the venue, customers and staff, to ensure minimal contamination of the crime scene.

The offender was later sentenced to 10 years and four months imprisonment for wounding with intent.

The judge praised those involved in saving the victims life, calling them “hero’s just doing their jobs.”

Club One47 and Guardian Protection Unit received a letter of commendation from North Wales Police praising the actions of staff in securing the scene and detaining the suspect.

Lee Jones said: “As door supervisors we are here to keep people safe. It is a massive thing to be recognised for doing what is just part of our job. To have the National Pubwatch Awards given to the three of us is such a massive thing.”

Jonathan Parry said: “We work together as a team and are like family. It is fantastic to be recognised. But I was just doing my job at the end of the day.”

Penny Parker & Anne Marie Greenough – The Victoria Inn Burton – Nottingham 2022

Left to right: Penny Parker, Anne-Marie Greenough & Chief Inspector Amy English Nottinghamshire Police

Publican Penny Parker of The Victoria Inn in Burton and her customer Anne-Marie Greenough have each been given a National Pubwatch Bravery & Meritorious Conduct Award for saving a customer’s life.

Penny, who runs the pub with her husband Dave, was in an upstairs room at the pub on the 21 May 2021, when staff alerted her to the fact that one of the regular customers Colin had collapsed in the bar. She went to the bar and found Anne-Marie performing CPR.

The ambulance service was contacted and Penny stood beside Anne-Marie relaying instructions from the call handler and encouraging her in her efforts to save the man’s life. An air ambulance attended the scene and the customer was taken to hospital. He later made a full recovery from cardiac arrest and still comes into the pub every day.

Days after the incident Penny’s brother-in-law Alan later suffered a cardiac arrest and died at the age of 62. His death spurred the licensees to raise £1,500 to fund the purchase of a defibrillator to be installed in the pub. After installation of the equipment, they also paid for a training session for staff and customers.

Penny said: “It was a massive shock to find out we were receiving an award for just doing what we needed to do. We would have done the same for anyone.

She added: “But this is a really good thing so we can raise awareness around the issues of cardiac arrest. We still fundraise for the British Heart Foundation and hopefully this will inspire others to do the same.”

Anne-Marie said: “It means a lot to have been put forward for the award. I’m honoured. It still seems unreal that I actually saved someone’s life. It happened so quickly that I didn’t really have time to think about it and just reacted on instinct. It was a shock and still now when I see Colin reminds me of that day.”

The Victoria Inn in Burton has also just received the top accolade of Marston’s pub of the year.

Gareth Colley – Professional Security (Atik Nightclub) – Nottingham 2022

Gareth Colley and Chief Inspector Amy English Nottinghamshire Police

National Pubwatch has presented door supervisor Gareth Colley with a Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Award after he saved a female customer from drowning.

On 20 November 2021, Gareth was working at Atik nightclub in Hull, when a female customer jumped into the Humber Estuary.

The drunken female had been escorted from the venue and placed in the care of her friends, when she decided to run from their care.

Gareth and his fellow door-staff ran towards the estuary after her. Gareth jumped onto a pontoon lowering himself into the water after her. He managed to pull her onto the pontoon where they clung to a railing.

Garth’s fellow door supervisors called the emergency services and the fire brigade eventually managed to get them both out of the water and to safety. The female was taken to hospital and released the following day.

“I pulled her out of the water onto the pontoon and wrapped her in two coats and a foil blanket,” Gareth said. “It was just instinct and I would have done it for anyone and she needed help.”

He added: “I have never been awarded anything. To be honest I was shocked to receive it. It means a lot to be recognised and I am proud to receive the award.”

Clive Read – Shoosh, Brighton – House of Lords 2021

Left to right Nigel Connor (JD Wetherspoon), Clive Read, Lord Kennedy & Steve Baker Chair National Pubwatch

National Pubwatch has awarded door supervisor Clive Read with the Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Award for detaining a rapist and rescuing a young girl on Brighton Beach.

Clive, who is door supervisor at club Shooshh, spotted something, was wrong when he was patrolling along the pebble beach during his shift.

Clive detained the attacker and rescued the young girl, making sure she was safe. The police were called and the attacker arrested and has subsequently been convicted of rape and sentenced to nine years.

While the door supervisor works at the club and conducts patrols along the beach; he spends a large amount of time behind the scenes attending meetings such as that of the local Pubwatch.

He said: “We are protecting the public even outside our venue because we feel that it’s important that customers are able to leave a nightclub and continue their journey or get home in safety.”

He said to be given this award was a “big surprise” as many in the industry do not get recognised. He said he wants this award to highlight to other door supervisors that they do a good job and are recognised for this.

“I want door supervisors to be recognised for doing a good job and going above and beyond to protect the public. That is the reason we do it. It is not only for the venue and the staff but for the people out there enjoying the night,” he said.

“To be honest I was just doing my job. We are there to protect and serve.”

This is not the first time that Clive has put his own safety at risk to save another life. In 2015 he was working at The Arch Brighton at the height of Storm Barney when saw a distressed young man trying to enter the sea. He followed him into the waves and wrestled him back to shore. The young man was handed over to the emergency services and he was detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

Becky Goulding – The Winery, Burton – House of Lords 2021 

Left to right Nigel Connor (JD Wetherspoon), Becky Goulding, Lord Kennedy & Steve Baker National Pubwatch

Becky Goulding has been presented with the Bravery and Meritorious Conduct Award for saving a man’s life after he collapsed.

Becky, who is general manager of The Winery Bar Restaurant in Burton, ran to help the customer who had collapsed from cardiac arrest in the car park.

The man has been dining at the venue for lunch with his wife on their 40th wedding anniversary.

Becky immediately started CPR and called for another member of staff to call an ambulance.

Thankfully Becky had recently completed a first aid course and said instinct took hold as she tried to save the man’s life.

“The thing for me is I didn’t realise and still don’t realise just what I did that day,” she said.

“Instinct just takes over. I had just finished a first aid course and you always go on these courses but never think you will need them. You never think you will put it into practice.”

“The way I look at it is that could have been any of my family members. You don’t stop and hesitate you just get straight to it.  I knew he needed CPR. To not even know the man and to be performing CPR was very emotional.”

The good news is that the customer survived and has recovered from the incident.

When she heard she was receiving the award at a dinner at the House of Lords she said it came as a bit of a shock.

“To have saved a man’s life is just out of this world and to then be recognised for it as well. It is incredible.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service praised Becky’s actions, saying she gave him a chance he might not have had.

Grayson Underhill – Thekla Nightclub, Bristol – Cardiff 2020

Left to right: Grayson Underhill & Lord Kennedy

Grayson is the Head Door Supervisor of the Thekla Night Club in Bristol. He was nominated by Matt Jenkinson, the deputy manager of the night club.

Thekla is a rather unique live music venue, being a converted German cargo ship, which has been berthed in Bristol harbour since 1984.
The incident which has led to this nomination, took place in the early hours of 28 November 2018. Two female customers had a disagreement. One wanted to stay and keep on partying, the other wished to leave.

Following the disagreement, both parties walked away from the venue. A few minutes later a member of the public alerted Grayson that a female had jumped into the harbour waters.

The on-duty security team threw ‘life rings’ into the water in the direction of the female, but she ignored requests to swim to the shore and safety and swam further into the middle of the harbour.

Grayson and his colleagues ran to the other side of the harbour in an attempt to maintain sight of the woman. When they arrived at this location, they could clearly see that she had begun to struggle in the water. Grayson immediately made the decision to enter the water and rescue her.

His efforts were hampered by the fact that she refused to cooperate but he eventually managed to pull her to the side of the harbour where she was removed from the water and into a waiting ambulance which provided medical care and took her to hospital.

In nominating Grayson for this award Matt Jenkinson stated that he deserved to be honoured because he had worked alongside Theklas management to build a core team and to create a venue that put customer safety and satisfaction as a priority, where customers felt confident in the security team to deal with any situations and keep them safe.

In describing the incident, he said: “He was able to get the person out safely, without putting himself or others in danger. He showed great assertiveness and quick thinking, resolving a potentially dangerous situation in a matter of minutes.”

Barry Graham – Sir Henry Tate, Chorley – Cardiff 2020

Left to right: Barry Graham & Lord Kennedy

Barry has worked as a door supervisor for many years and is currently the Head Doorman at the Sir Henry Tate JD Wetherspoon Pub in Chorley. He was nominated by the manager Kasper Abols.

The incident which led to this nomination, took place during the evening of Friday 13th December 2019.

A member of the public alerted Barry to the fact that a homeless rough sleeper had collapsed outside the pub. Barry approached the man and attempted to rouse him but he appeared to have ceased breathing. He commenced chest compressions while someone else phoned for an ambulance.

A police officer attended the scene and both he and Barry continued to carry out CPR on the man. They managed to revive him just as an ambulance crew arrived on the scene and took over.

The man returned to the pub the following day and told staff that Barry had saved his life.

In nominating Barry, Kasper Abols stated that he has been a member of the door team for the past year and regularly checks on anyone he see’s sleeping rough in and around the area. He is well known locally and actively involved in the Chorley community.

In his spare time, he volunteers at the LW Storehouse food bank at the Living Waters Church in Chorley which helps the town’s most vulnerable people on a daily basis.

Kasper said: “Wetherspoon and the pub management at The Sir Henry Tate are very proud of his timely actions.”