A woman who held the hand of a dying man after an Angus road accident has been honoured for her bravery and compassion.
Janice Spence was driving near Forfar in June 2012 when she came upon the horrific scene of a road crash involving former Olympic team chief Ian Morrison.
The church elder had been delivering kirk newsletters near his home at Dunnichen, outside Letham, when his Mercedes was involved in a crash with a breakdown truck.
Ms Spence, from Monifieth, was travelling behind the lorry and her actions in the immediate aftermath of the crash were praised by the man’s widow and police at a Dundee ceremony this week when she received a Royal Humane Society Certificate of Commendation.
She ran to the aid of 82-year-old Mr Morrison, but he was slumped in the driver’s seat, bleeding and with a very weak pulse.
After calling for other drivers to raise the alarm, Ms Spence held the hand of the former teacher and lecturer, reassuring him, but unable to resuscitate Mr Morrison because he was trapped from the chest down.
Sadly Mr Morrison, who as chef de mission took the GB men’s hockey team to silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and gold in Seoul four years later, passed away at the scene, but his widow, Isabel, greatly appreciated Ms Spence’s act of kindness.
Mrs Morrison was present at the emotional ceremony at Baluniefield, Dundee, to witness Chief Superintendent Hamish Macpherson present Ms Spence with her commendation.
She has personally thanked Janice after meeting her in the wake of the tragedy and said the Royal Humane Society recognition was truly deserved.
“I met with her for a coffee and we got on very well. What she did at the scene was amazing,” said Mrs Morrison.
“She also got other motorists organised there and I was really very grateful for her giving my husband comfort.
“I was invited to the certificate presentation and it was a very moving ceremony,” she added.
Also honoured were Angus police officers Diego Batard and Colin Crosbie, who were presented with a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Parchment for saving the life of a suicidal man in Forfar Loch.
The two constables were on duty in the late hours of July 2 2012 when they responded to a call from Grampian colleagues regarding the safety of a man who had left his home in Aberdeen, stating his intention to take his own life.
He was in regular contact with his mother by phone and it became clear he was heading to Forfar.
PCs Batard and Crosbie carried out inquiries to trace the man and were later informed he had told his mother he was up to his waist in water in Forfar Loch.
They raced to the beauty spot and managed to trace the man in the water, about 40 feet from the edge of the loch.
He was extremely emotional and shouting into his mobile phone and, realising that there was no time to wait for additional help, the two Angus officers swam out to the man who was now chest high in water.
They took hold of him and managed to calm him down before bringing him safely back to the shore.
A third award, a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Parchment, was made to Poul Thomassen, who ran to the aid of a woman who was about to jump from the Tay Road Bridge in December 2012.
He saved her life after grabbing her when she fell backwards and calmed her until emergency services. arrived.