THREE men who battled to save a pedestrian who was hit by a speeding car have won a national award for their valiant efforts.Carol Myhill, 61, was knocked down when a youth lost control of his Vauxhall Astra and mounted a pavement in Victoria Road, Aldeburgh, on February 25 last year.

THREE men who battled to save a pedestrian who was hit by a speeding car have won a national award for their valiant efforts.

Carol Myhill, 61, was knocked down when a youth lost control of his Vauxhall Astra and mounted a pavement in Victoria Road, Aldeburgh, on February 25 last year.

Steve Saint, 40, a mechanic at Aldeburgh lifeboat station, and Lee Firman, 32, the lifeboat coxswain, were enjoying a drink in the town after a first aid training course when they were alerted by a car speeding around the corner.

The pair, along with Robert Smith, from Poole, saw the commotion and rushed to help Mrs Myhill, who had been walking home from work at the Wentworth Hotel in Aldeburgh when the accident happened.

Mr Saint, who was a family friend of Mrs Myhill, said: 'You train for certain things, but you don't expect to be in that position, especially with someone you know.

'It was really bizarre we had already been doing some training beforehand.'

The trio struggled to resuscitate Mrs Myhill for 40 minutes and managed to keep her heartbeat until paramedics took her to hospital.

Tragically, Mrs Myhill later died, but thanks to the men's heroic actions, her organs were able to be donated to help others.

A year on, the men have been praised for their quick-thinking actions and been given resuscitation certificates by the Royal Humane Society.

Mr Saint said: 'It is nice to be recognised for something like that but, hopefully, I'll never have to do it again.'

James Sadler, the teenage driver of the car which struck Mrs Myhill, was sentenced to 28 months in a young offenders' institution and banned from the roads for four years having admitted causing Mrs Myhill's death at Ipswich Crown Court in December last year.

The court heard Sadler had been driving at a 'greatly excessive' speed and had been 'showing off' to his passengers before the accident.

Dick Wilkinson, the Humane Society's secretary, said: 'Thanks to the three's efforts, Mrs Myhill had a strong heartbeat when the ambulance took her away.

'Doctors reported their remarkable efforts in keeping her alive ensured her organs could be donated as was her wish.

'While, sadly, they were unable to save her life, who knows how many others have been extended or enriched by the efforts of these three men.'