Two police who fought a life and death battle to keep a horrifically injured motorcyclist alive after a collision are to receive top national honours.

Swaffham-based officers PCs Keith Hunt and Mark Whitmore rushed to the scene of the accident between a car and the motorcycle in Wheatley Bank, Walsoken, near Wisbech, last June.

They found the motorcyclist lying completely unresponsive where he had been thrown from his vehicle.

He had extensive head and facial injuries and was bleeding profusely. They immediately carried out a medical check and then fitted an oxygen mask to him.

At one stage he stopped breathing and PC Hunt immediately began to administer cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and he began breathing again.

The motorcyclist, who came from Wisbech, died in hospital three months later after never fully recovering consciousness.

However, the two officers have been praised for giving him the best possible chance of survival and been awarded Royal Humane Society resuscitation certificates for keeping him breathing until an ambulance arrived.

Andrew Chapman, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said : 'When the two officers arrived at the scene they were confronted by a horrific scene with the seriously injured motor cyclist bleeding profusely.

'They immediately began fighting to save him and managed to resuscitate him after he stopped breathing. Sadly he died in hospital three months later but no-one could have done more than these two officers to give him the best chances of survival.

'And their actions also gave the victim's family an opportunity to spend final time with him before he died. PCs Hunt and Whitmore richly deserve the awards the are to receive.

'Although the victim died this is another case which emphasises the value of as many people as possible being able to carry out CPR and other life-saving techniques. It's something no-one wants to use, but if a situation such as this arises, it can and often does make the difference between life and death.'

The Royal Humane Society was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan, to promote techniques of resuscitation.