TWO police officers, who put their lives on the line to tackle a drunk as he tried to set fire to a Cullompton pub, have received three awards for bravery.

Quick-thinking PC Mike Atkins and PC Stephen Harrison apprehended cider-fuelled Paul Martin as he attempted to ignite the rear, wooden entrance of the Manor House Hotel, Fore Street, after dousing it in petrol last year.

The Tiverton-based police officers have been awarded the Chief Constable's Commendation for Bravery, a Crown Court Judge Award and the Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Parchment.

Meanwhile, former butcher Martin, 38, from Oak Drive, Cullompton, is serving a three-year jail term.

PC Atkins recalled: "We turned up to the rear of the Manor and found this chap with a petrol can in one hand and a lighter in the other. The place smelt strongly of the substance and he was threatening to set fire to it. We restrained him but he did manage to spark the lighter once, which gave us a bit of a shock. We didn't think about it at the time, as it is all part of the job, but it is nice to be recognised. Who knows what could have happened to the people in the pub if the petrol had been lit?

"He would have killed himself as well as us because we were stood in the petrol, so it had the potential to be a serious incident," he added.

Martin was jailed in October after admitting attempted arson and being reckless as to whether life was endangered. Exeter Crown Court heard that after an argument he left the Manor House, fetched a petrol can from his home and returned to douse wooden doors at the rear in petrol before trying to ignite it. The court heard Martin had no criminal record, but flew into a rage because he believed fellow drinkers were mocking a recent hospital operation.

Prosecutor Barry White said Martin had drunk around 10 pints of cider on the night of the incident.

Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, announced the award at its London headquarters on March 4 on the recommendation of the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary.

Tiverton-based Sgt Ryan Doyle said: "They made a split-second decision and put themselves on the line."