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An officer based
at RAF Chivenor, near Barnstaple, has been awarded the Air Force
Cross for his bravery in rescuing a man who fell 120 feet from a
cliff.
The Air Force Cross is one of the highest peacetime awards for bravery.
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Hero:
Flight sargeant Timothy Thompson
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Flight Sargeant
Timothy Thompson has been awarded the medal for his part in rescuing
Adrian Hodgson who fell from Baggy Point near Croyde in September
last year.
Mr Hodgson landed on a narrow ledge which was already becoming submerged
under the incoming tide. Flight
Sargeant Thompson was winched down to the ledge and decided not
to secure himself to it so that he could get the casualty onto a
stretcher.
Despite going underwater when large waves washed in, he held the
stretcher above the sea water. Other climbers managed to wrestle
the stretcher to safety.
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Baggy
Point: scene of the dramatic rescue
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At one point
Flight Sargeant Thompson's feet became trapped in rocks before the
force of the waves freed him.
The casualty Adrian Hodgson is still recovering at his home in Middlesborough.
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