THE heroics of two Wee County cops were recognised at the Brave@Heart awards after they saved a man's life last year.

PC Jordan Cuthbertson and PC David McNeil, of Alloa Police Station, entered a property in Backwood Court, Clackmannan, after being alerted by a neighbour that a fire had broken out with someone inside.

The pair fought through clouds of smoke to rescue the person, who had fallen asleep with the chip pan on, and carried him to safety.

And on last Tuesday, almost a year on, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon presented PC Cuthbertson and PC McNeil with an award at a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle.

While they both spoke of their appreciation at being put forward, they admitted that for them, it was just a case of doing their job.

PC Cuthbertson said: "The smoke was that thick, like it is in the films. You could only see the bottom half of the room because obviously the smoke was filling up the top half of the building.

"We went in, found him and got him out.

"It's a daunting thing, but at that stage you're not thinking about it. We're not trained to do that in any shape or form, but it is the right thing to do.

"It was nice to be recognised, but I think that the people we are, we're genuinely a bit embarrassed by it all. It's not something we're overly used to ourselves."

PC McNeil recalled the harrowing incident in December 2016 and added: "He was just lying on the couch with his eyes shut. It's a knee jerk reaction, you just go."

On receiving formal recognition the constable said: "[I would have] preferred to have just kept it under wraps, to be fair, and a wee internal pat on the back would have been fine.

"We've had a fair bit of abuse as it is, so it's just going to add to that, just jovial ribbing. It's in good spirits but it'll not be met with rounds of applause.

"There will be jokes about getting our capes fitted and wearing pants on the outside of our trousers."

Both officers were supported by loved ones at the awards, and revealed that their family were happy for them, but will never stop worrying while they are out on the beat.

PC McNeil added: "The very first thing my dad said was how stupid I was, 'You're no fireproof, you're no bulletproof' but after that when he found out about the award and what had happened, he was proud as punch."

PC Cuthbertson agreed, when he said: "The pride or thanks came after they gave you a row for doing something that they deemed silly and not our job.

"Deep down, they know what we do for a living is inherently dangerous sometimes. It doesn't matter what we would do, they would still worry about us.

"That's what we get paid to do, to keep people safe and that encompasses a huge amount of things.

"What we did that night, it isn't any different to what anyone else in the office would have done. I'm positive of that fact.

"We were there, whether you think that's lucky or unlucky, and we did what we did.

"I don't think there's anybody else who would have rocked up and done anything any differently because Alloa's a great office. It's full of good cops."

PC Cuthbertson and PC McNeill took the opportunity to thank Sergeant Scott Thomson and Chief Inspector Drew Sinclair, who put them forward for the award, for the recognition.