Police officer and her parents praised for their efforts in trying to save the life of young Leamington girl

PC Lauryn Churchill with her parents Alicia and Darrell receive Chief Constable's Commendations from Warwickshire Chief Constable Debbie Tedds at the awards ceremony on March 17.

A police officer and her parents who tried to save the life of a three-year-old girl in Leamington have been recognised with an award at the Warwickshire Police Chief Constable’s Award Ceremony.

PC Lauryn Churchill was off duty when a car collided with Briya Kaur Gill in Leamington in July 2020.

PC Churchill took control of the situation, assisted by her parents Darrell and Alicia Churchill.

Evie Headland, 17, from Rugby receives her award from Warwickshire Chief Constable Debbie Tedds.

Sadly, young Briya sadly died but the efforts of PC Churchill and her parents gave the youngster 'the best possible chance of survival'.

Once emergency services arrived on the scene, PC Churchill consoled the girl’s sister.

Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said: “PC Churchill had only been out of initial training for six months at the time of the incident but she showed the very best of policing despite being off duty.

“Darrell and Alicia went above and beyond to support the girl’s family and the attending officers during an extremely traumatic incident.”

PCSO Helena Seal and PCSO Tony Winter receive their awards from Warwickshire Chief Constable Debbie Tedds.

Another to receive an award from the chief constable was 17-year-old Rugby resident Evie Headland.

Evie was on her way home when she noticed her neighbour’s front door open and the girl’s mother screaming.

Evie went into the house and found the girl in cardiac arrest; she immediately began to administer CPR and continued until paramedics arrived.

Chief Constable Tedds said: “Paramedics said that had Evie not administered CPR when she did the child may not have survived.”

Warwickshire Police Cadet Alexandra Williams receives her award from chief constable Debbie Tedds.

Two PCSOs who helped save the life of vulnerable woman in the Rugby area were also recognised for their efforts.

PCSOs Helena Seal and Tony Winter were responding to a report of a high-risk missing person who was believed to be in a wooded area near the town.

They found the woman in an extremely vulnerable and agitated state and she did not want to engage with the PCSOs.

Chief Constable Tedds said: “Both officers showed a great deal of compassion and resilience while helping the vulnerable woman. Their actions saved her life and enabled her to be brought to safety and access further support.”

And a Warwickshire Police Cadet who dedicated her time during lockdown to learning sign language was another to be recognised with an award.

Alexandra Williams achieved level four accreditation in British sign language having no previous experience or knowledge.

To help promote Deaf Awareness Week in May 2021, Alexandra made a video that was posted on Warwickshire Police's social media accounts and it received an overwhelming number of positive comments and shares.

Chief Constable Tedds said: “Alexandra has demonstrated her commitment to the cadet scheme and shown a true passion for sign language and helping others.

"In her own time she delivered training in basic sign language to her fellow cadets. We are extremely proud of her.”