CUMBRIA AA patroller, James Fell, was awarded a citation from the UK’s largest breakdown organisation at its annual awards evening, in recognition of his selfless actions.

The award comes following a double nomination by his colleagues after the dedicated patrol carried out two acts of kindness and bravery in the same week, one of which involved a mission near Brampton.

On this mission, James’ colleague was protecting the scene after a customer had broken-down in an extremely dangerous and remote location on the A69 just outside Brampton.

The member had contacted the police, but they were unable to attend without having an exact time of arrival of the AA, so James’s colleague called him for help, although on his way home after a long shift, James immediately offered his assistance.

With both patrols now on scene, it was decided that the first attending patrol would tow the vehicle and member to safety while James followed closely behind using his van’s beacons to alert other drivers to the hazard ahead.

Through his swift and selfless actions, James ensured that his colleague and the AA member got to a safe location quickly and safely, where the vehicle could be properly assessed without further risk to either member or colleague.

On another occasion, James’ team-mate, Rob Dixon needed a vital part to get a vulnerable member’s fuel system up and running again after it had broken down near Silloth.

Due to the vehicle’s location and the member’s vulnerability, Rob was unable to leave the member and her autistic grandchild alone while he went to collect the new fuel pump.

After a phone call from Rob, explaining the situation, James immediately suggested that it would be safer for himself to collect the part to deliver it to the breakdown scene.

Once James had delivered the part, he stayed around and kept the grandchild entertained while Rob fitted the new pump and got the car running again.

The AA member and her grandchild were then free to continue their journey in safety.