A Norwich police officer who saved a pensioner's life as he was about to clock off his shift has been given an award for his bravery.

PC Peter Baitey was on his way back to the police station at 7.30am on August 29 last year at the end of his duty when he came across a crowd of people at the roadside of Earlham Road.

He found that a 71-year-old man had collapsed in the street, and soon stopped breathing and became unconscious.

PC Baitey started to give CPR, helped by an off-duty nurse who arrived at the scene and gave mouth to mouth resuscitation.

The man soon started breathing again and regained consciousness, and was taken by ambulance to hospital where he made a full recovery.

PC Baitey has now been award a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate for his actions.

Announcing the award, Andrew Chapman, the society's secretary, said: 'Thankfully PC Baitey was the right person in the right place at the right time.

'He knew exactly what to do and was able to start administering CPR the moment the man stopped breathing. Time is of the essence in situations like this and the sooner CPR is started the better the chances are of it working. What a wonderful way to end a night shift by unexpectedly saving a life.'

He said it was another incident which emphasised the need for people to learn CPR and other life-saving techniques.

'No-one who has learned it really wants to have to use it but as this incident shows it can make the difference between life and death,' he said.

A date for an official presentation of the award, which was recommended by Norfolk police, is yet to be announced.

The Royal Humane Society was founded in 1774 by William Hawes and Thomas Cogan, who hoped to promote techniques of resuscitation.

The scheme, which has made more than 200,000 awards, has since evolved, and a variety of accolades are now given out.

Norfolk police's deputy chief constable Nick Dean said: 'This case shows how quickly officers can find themselves in life or death situations. There's no doubt PC Baitey's commendable actions helped save a man's life that day and he is a credit to the police service and community he serves.'