Bravery Award winners from South Wales Police were made to feel like ‘guests of honour’ at a reception hosted by Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford.

Mr Drakeford held the event at the Senedd to recognise Wales’s 2023 Police Bravery Awards nominees.

They included inspector Paul Ramsay and colleague detective inspector Paul Graham, who along with police constable Owen Bedford and an officer who wishes to remain anonymous, received a national award for the courage they showed as they tried to rescue a woman from a crumbling cliff edge.

The South Wales Police Federation members risked their lives forming a human chain to try to save the woman from falling down the cliff.

The bravery of Owen Bedford and Paul Ramsay (centre) was recognised at the Senedd.

The officers were presented with their Police Bravery Award by Mr Drakeford at a ceremony in London earlier this year.

And last week, he held a reception in recognition of their courageous actions.

“It was an honour to meet the brave men and women who have gone beyond the call of duty in a bid to protect members of the public from harm,” said Mr Drakeford.

“They acted selflessly and we are proud of their actions. I’m looking forward to congratulating them on their awards and nominations, which are highly deserved.”

Paul Ramsay, who attended the event with Owen, said: “It was nice to meet Mr Drakeford again and to thank him for coming all the way to London to give us the award.

“He remembered the conversations he had with us at the awards ceremony and gave us a chance to tell our stories again.

Guests of honour

“They made us feel really welcome - we felt like guests of honour.

“It was nice to get invited to the Senedd and have this experience out of such tragic circumstances.”

The reception was also attended by nominations from Gwent Force, police sergeants Isabelle Coulson and Ross Phillips, as well as Hannah Blythyn, Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, as well as Calum Macleod, secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), National Board member for the Welsh region Zac Mader and Leigh Godfrey, Post Incident Lead and Region 7 (Wales) Representative for PFEW, also attended the reception.

Zac said: “We’re very grateful to the First Minister for hosting a reception to recognise the exceptional bravery of our police officers in Wales.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on the courageous actions that officers show every day in serving and protecting the people of Wales.”

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