30/10/2025
🚨Warren & Co have the honour of attending the Fed awards next week! 🚨
The individuals that work for Devon & Cornwall Police are truly deserving of these awards. 🏆
What an incredible Police Force we support!
An officer who went into freezing cold water on a winter’s night to save a man’s life has won a 2025 Devon & Cornwall Police Federation Recognition Award.
PC Mark Shaw has won the Award for the Plymouth area at the new event and will join colleagues from across the two counties to celebrate his success at a prestigious event on Thursday 6 November.
At around 2am on 12, November 2024, PC Shaw and a colleague were called to the quayside at Sutton Harbour, Plymouth, and were told there was a man struggling in the freezing water.
PC Shaw recalled: “It was so dark and black, but I could see there was a man lying on his back trying to keep himself afloat, and another person who was trying to help him.”
The officers stood on the harbour wall and threw a life rope, shouting for the man to grab it, but he appeared intoxicated and disorientated and wasn’t paying attention to instructions.
PC Shaw said: “Then he just went unresponsive and kind of turned over. His face was under the water. And that’s when I realised: I'm going to have to try and get in the water.”
PC Shaw had to clamber over a spiked metal fence to get to the water, trying not to impale himself on the spikes or fall in the water, as he still had all his kit on. Once over the fence, he took off his stab vest and boots and lowered himself into the water to avoid cold water shock.
He said: “The water was very cold, and I started to swim towards the man; he was about 10 to 15 metres away from me and was still unresponsive. Luckily there was a life ring that had been thrown into the water, so I put my left arm inside it and used it as a buoyancy aid.
“I got close to the man and grabbed him; by the time I got to him I was out of breath, as it’s difficult swimming with all your kit on. I managed to grab him by his collar and swivel him around so he was face up.”
PC Shaw dragged the man to the jetty, where his colleagues had managed to get the compound open, and they helped pull him out, although this was difficult because the man had so many clothes on. PC Shaw kept treading water while trying to push the man up.
Eventually the officers got the man onto the jetty and immediately started CPR. They continued doing CPR until the ambulance arrived. On the way to hospital, the man started breathing again and, astonishingly, made a full recovery.
PC Shaw’s colleagues were concerned for him as his lips had turned blue, so he went to hospital and was told his temperature was slightly low but not to a dangerous level.
When PC Shaw heard he had been nominated for a Federation Award, he said he was proud: “A lot of us do incredible things all the time. I’m proud of it, but I really wasn't expecting it.”
Devon & Cornwall Police Federation Chair Katie Clements said: “What an incredible life saving colleague. As always this incident shows police officers do much more than fight crime.
“Mark didn’t hesitate to put himself in danger to save the man, despite the cold, dark and freezing conditions. He was incredibly brave, and there’s no doubt that his quick actions saved the man’s life.
“He is a very worthy winner of an Award.”
PC Shaw will attend the 2025 Devon & Cornwall Police Federation Recognition Awards on Thursday 6 November.
The Devon & Cornwall Police Federation Recognition Awards are in association with Axon.
Also sponsoring the Awards are Niche, Uniform Mortgages, Gallagher, Serve and Protect Credit Union, Warren & Co, The National Police Healthcare Scheme, THB Legal, Police Mortgages, Bluline Health, Pointers Financial and No1 CopperPot Credit Union.
