AN award-winning Bolton bobby has told how he pulled a lorry driver from his blazing cab with just seconds to spare.

PC Brian Orr rushed to the man's aid, prising open the door of the burning vehicle following a motorway pile-up involving three lorries.

As flames licked the bodywork and a tyre exploded in the heat, PC Orr forced the door open and helped drag the driver to safety.

And the officer, along with three members of the public who took part in the rescue, were presented with a European award in recognition of their bravery at the scene of the accident on the M62.

PC Orr, who is an acting sergeant at Daubhill police station and has been in the force for nearly eight years, told of the desperate battle to free the trapped driver as the fire caught hold.

He said: "We just grabbed crowbars and pieces of wood to force open the door. It was a frightening experience. At one point a tyre exploded and the cab sank down.

"I thought: 'If I'm not away from here in 30 seconds, I'm going to fry myself'. We had just a matter of minutes, but it didn't take long. We were prising away the door for about a minute or so.

"We pulled him out and the fire brigade arrived, but if they had been just a couple of minutes later the whole thing would have gone up."

The dramatic rescue last April followed a smash involving three lorries on the M62 at Windy Hill.

One lorry had jack-knifed after colliding with another HGV parked up on the hard shoulder. A third lorry then collided with the jack-knifed vehicle.

The driver of the third lorry was rescued by PC Orr, who at the time was based at Birch Service Station as a member of the motorway unit.

PC Orr added: "I just thought we had to get the lad out of there as quickly as possible, otherwise he was going to die.

"I didn't think about the danger of the situation. I just reacted. It's only later when that I realised what we'd done."

Recently he attended a special ceremony at West Yorkshire Police's HQ in Wakefield to recieve the Giancarlo Tofi award.

The award commemorates the heroic actions of an Italian man killed in 1972 as he helped at the scene of a road accident in his village.

The 32-year-old father-of-two added: "I'm very proud of the award. My family will enjoy a nice trip out as well."