A Cumbrian firefighter has won a prestigious award.

Crew Manager Steve Wharton, of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, has been awarded The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award for his courageous rescue of 13-year-old Kacper Krouze.

As part of the life saving rescue, Firefighter John Bell also went into the river and they were supported by firefighters David Anderton, Michael Dowding, Bradley Hall, James Wood and Watch Manager Neil Aitken from the riverbank.

A spokesperson for Appleby Fire Station wrote in a congratulatory post: "The rescue was nothing short of miraculous, after Kacper had been underwater for 25 minutes, making Steve more than worthy of the awards' Emergency Services honour.

"Steve was surprised with the award on ITV’s This Morning, just now, when he thought he was been interviewed by Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond as one of the finalists.

"Enjoy the award ceremony with your family Steve and congratulations from all the crew at Appleby Fire Station."

Chief Fire Officer for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, John Beard, commended the crew for acting selflessly and professionally in extremely challenging circumstances.

He said: "I’d like to congratulate Stephen for this fantastic achievement and also the entire Appleby crew who also assisted at the incident that day.

"This was a first-class rescue and the way in which Stephen and the combined efforts of the Appleby crew dealt with a very high-pressured situation was exemplary.

"It was an act of bravery which is thoroughly deserving of the award."

Pictured is the crew that worked alongside Crew Manager Wharton in the life saving rescue of a 13 year-old boy who was drowning in the River Eden in February 2019.

The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual award ceremony which honours British people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challenging situations.

The Pride of Britain Award winners are chosen by a panel of celebrities and well-known figures from a range of backgrounds, and has included multiple appearances by Simon Cowell, Richard Branson, Fiona Phillips, Christine Bleakley, Magdi Yacoub, Richard Wallace, Eamonn Holmes and Aled Jones, chaired from 1999 to 2004 by Piers Morgan and from 2005 to 2006 by Peter Willis, founder of the awards.

The Pride of Britain Awards will be broadcast on ITV 1 on November 4 at 8pm where people can see Steve presented with The Pride of Britain award for the Emergency Services.