A fireman who put his life on the line to prevent a woman killing herself on the M1 has been awarded a national bravery award.

Alex Strand, watch manager at Hendon Fire Station, was driving north on the M1 close to Junction 4 at Elstree on June 9 when a 26-year-old woman on the carriageway ahead of him tried to kill herself.

Despite vehicles travelling at high speed, Mr Strand stopped, got out of his car and chased the woman, rugby tackling her and dragging her to safety. She was taken to hospital suffering from just minor grazes.

A road collision scene manager and traffic supervisor later went on record saying : “My colleagues and I wish to thank him for his efforts and bravery that he showed during this incident.

"In over 20 years as a police officer I am aware of the difficult situation that Mr Strand faced and his efforts to deal with it in a professional and selfless manner.”

Mr Strand has now been awarded a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum, which has been personally approved and will be signed by the society's president, Princess Alexandra.

He has also won the personal praise of the society's secretary, Andrew Chapman. Announcing the award at the Society’s London headquarters, Mr Chapman said: “What Mr Strand did was incredibly brave. It’s astonishing no-one was killed.

“He put his life on the line to prevent the woman carrying out her suicide bid, and in doing so probably prevented a major motorway pile-up. If a car had hit her the knock-on effect could well have been a multi-vehicle crash.

“Police who recommended that he should be given an award said that but for his ‘quick thinking and decisive action’ all other passing motorists would have been in a far graver situation. He richly deserves the award. His actions were truly heroic.”

No date has yet been fixed for presentation of the award but it is expected to take place in the near future.

The Royal Humane Society is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life. The Queen is its patron and its president is Princess Alexandra.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

The society also awards non-healthcare professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the society has considered over 87,000 cases and made more than 200,000 awards. The society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.

It was one of a select number of organisations to receive a donation from the Patron’s Fund, which was set up to acknowledge work done by organisations of which the Queen is the patron, to mark her 90th birthday.